Law Topics >  Cause of Injuries > Government Negligence

Federal, state and local governments have become involved in an almost unimaginable number of activities over the past 100 years. With this increased pervasiveness of government come more opportunities for government related neglect and carelessness.

Until the mid-1900s, a legal concept known as sovereign immunity protected the government from suits brought by private citizens who had been injured by some act of the government. The concept of sovereign immunity was brought to America from England after the Revolutionary War. The British felt that the “King could do no wrong” and as such no citizen was permitted to sue the monarch!

During the last 50 years the American people and the U.S. judicial system have realized that the King / government can indeed do plenty of “wrong.” Under this modern understanding of government negligence, courts have permitted private citizens to sue the government with ever increasing frequency.