Sovereign immunity is the rule that you cannot sue the government unless it has agreed to be sued. It applies to the federal government, to state governments, and to foreign governments, and each level sets its own terms for when that protection gives way. The federal government has waived its immunity for certain negligence claims through the Federal Tort Claims Act, states have their own tort claims acts, and foreign governments can be sued only under the narrow exceptions in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.1Cornell Law Institute. Sovereign Immunity
The reasoning behind the doctrine is practical. If every person injured by a government employee could file suit on the same terms as against a private defendant, public funds and agency resources would be drained by constant litigation. So the government decides, by statute, when and how it will answer in court.
Which Government, Which Rulebook
Before anything else, identify who caused the harm. The federal government is immune from suit unless Congress has waived that immunity by statute, and the waiver covers every federal department, agency, and government corporation.2Congress.gov. Suits Against the United States and Sovereign Immunity Whether the defendant would be a postal worker, a VA hospital, or the Department of Defense, you need to find the statute that opens the door.
State governments carry their own layer of immunity, backed by the Eleventh Amendment, which bars federal courts from hearing lawsuits brought against a state by citizens of another state or by foreign nationals.3Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Eleventh Amendment The Supreme Court extended that protection in Hans v. Louisiana to bar suits by a state’s own citizens as well.4Justia Law. State Sovereign Immunity – Eleventh Amendment Foreign governments are presumptively immune in both federal and state courts under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1604 – Immunity of a Foreign State From Jurisdiction
Suing the Federal Government Under the FTCA
The Federal Tort Claims Act is the main way private citizens recover from the federal government. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b), federal district courts have jurisdiction over claims for money damages for injury, death, or property damage caused by a federal employee’s negligent or wrongful conduct, as long as the employee was acting within the scope of their job.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1346 – United States as Defendant The claim is measured against the standard a private person would face under the law of the state where the incident happened. The government, in effect, steps into the shoes of a private defendant.
Scope of employment is the gatekeeper for every FTCA claim. If the employee was off doing something purely personal when the injury occurred, the government stays immune. For military and National Guard members, scope of employment means acting in the line of duty.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 2671 – Definitions For civilian employees, courts apply the respondeat superior law of the state where the act occurred.
Typical FTCA claims include car accidents involving government vehicles, slip-and-fall injuries on federal property, and medical malpractice at VA hospitals or other federal health facilities.
What the FTCA Doesn’t Cover
The exceptions written into the FTCA defeat more claims than the procedural rules do. Two of them matter most.
Discretionary Function Exception
You cannot sue over decisions that involve judgment or policy. Under 28 U.S.C. § 2680(a), claims based on a federal employee’s exercise of a discretionary function are barred, even if the employee abused that discretion.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 2680 – Exceptions It also covers acts or omissions in executing a statute or regulation, as long as the employee exercised due care. Broad policy decisions, resource allocations, and regulatory judgments stay off-limits. If an agency chose to inspect bridges annually rather than monthly and a bridge then collapsed, that scheduling choice would likely qualify as protected discretion.
Intentional Tort Exception
Most intentional wrongdoing is excluded. Claims for assault, battery, false imprisonment, false arrest, defamation, fraud, and interference with contract rights are not covered.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 2680 – Exceptions There is one carve-out: if a federal law enforcement officer commits assault, battery, false imprisonment, false arrest, abuse of process, or malicious prosecution, you can bring an FTCA claim. A law enforcement officer, for this purpose, is someone empowered by law to execute searches, seize evidence, or make arrests for federal crimes.
Damages and Trial: What Recovery Looks Like
Even when the FTCA lets you sue, the terms are tilted compared to a normal personal injury case. The government is liable in the same manner as a private individual under similar circumstances, but the statute prohibits punitive damages and pre-judgment interest.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 2674 – Liability of United States You can recover compensatory damages for your actual losses. You cannot get the additional punishment award a jury might impose on a private defendant for reckless conduct.
You also do not get a jury. FTCA cases are tried by a federal judge sitting without one.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 2402 – Jury Trial in Actions Against United States Judges tend to be more conservative in assessing damages, and there is no opportunity for emotional appeals to a panel of peers.
Deadlines and the Administrative Claim Requirement
Before you can file a lawsuit under the FTCA, you must first submit an administrative claim to the federal agency whose employee caused the injury. The requirement is mandatory. No court will hear your case until you have gone through the agency process.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 2675 – Disposition by Federal Agency as Prerequisite
Two deadlines control the whole process, and missing either one destroys the claim.
You have two years from the date the claim accrues to present the administrative claim. If you miss that window, the statute says your claim is “forever barred.”12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 2401 – Time for Commencing Action Against United States Accrual usually means the date of the injury, but if the harm was not immediately discoverable, the clock may start when you knew or should have known about the injury and its cause.
If the agency denies your claim, you have six months from the date of the denial letter to file suit in federal district court.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 2401 – Time for Commencing Action Against United States Six months goes fast. Many viable claims die because the claimant waited too long after receiving the denial.
The filing itself uses Standard Form 95, available on most federal agency websites and the Department of Justice site.13Department of Justice. Documents and Forms Two parts of the form are critical. Block 8 asks for a narrative of what happened, including the date, time, location, and circumstances. Block 12 requires a “sum certain,” the exact dollar amount you’re requesting for personal injury, property damage, or wrongful death. Leaving that blank, or writing something vague like “to be determined,” can invalidate the entire claim and forfeit your right to sue.14General Services Administration. Standard Form 95 – Claim for Damage, Injury, or Death Back the number up with itemized medical bills, treatment records, repair estimates, and any police reports or witness statements that support the account.
Once the agency receives your claim, it has six months to investigate and respond. If it fails to act within that window, you can treat the silence as a denial and go to federal court.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 2675 – Disposition by Federal Agency as Prerequisite A formal denial must come in writing by certified or registered mail.15eCFR. 28 CFR Part 14 – Administrative Claims Under Federal Tort Claims Act That mailing date starts the six-month lawsuit clock. Keep proof of every mailing and delivery confirmation; if a dispute arises about timing, those records are your lifeline.
Suing a State Government
The FTCA does not apply to states. Every state has its own tort claims act defining when it can be sued and under what procedures, and the rules vary widely. Notice-of-claim deadlines alone run anywhere from six months to three years. If your claim is against a state agency or employee, the first step is finding that state’s tort claims statute and its notice deadline.
Suing a Foreign Government Under the FSIA
A foreign government is presumptively immune in U.S. courts, and the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act then lists the specific situations where that immunity falls away.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1604 – Immunity of a Foreign State From Jurisdiction Three exceptions do most of the work.
Commercial Activity
A foreign government loses immunity when it acts like a business. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(2), you can sue over commercial activity it carried on in the United States, acts it performed here in connection with commercial activity abroad, or acts outside the U.S. in connection with commercial activity that cause a direct effect in this country.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1605 – General Exceptions to the Jurisdictional Immunity of a Foreign State A foreign government that contracts to buy goods from a U.S. company and then refuses to pay would likely lose its immunity for that dispute.
Torts Occurring in the United States
Foreign states can also be sued for personal injury, death, or property damage occurring within the United States and caused by their wrongful conduct, provided the claim does not fall under the commercial activity exception.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1605 – General Exceptions to the Jurisdictional Immunity of a Foreign State A car accident involving a foreign embassy vehicle on a U.S. road is the classic example. The exception does not cover claims based on discretionary functions, defamation, fraud, or interference with contract rights.
State Sponsors of Terrorism
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1605A, a foreign state designated as a sponsor of terrorism loses its immunity when its officials or agents cause personal injury or death through torture, extrajudicial killing, aircraft sabotage, hostage-taking, or material support for those acts. The claimant or victim must have been a U.S. national, a member of the armed forces, or a government employee or contractor at the time of the act. Unlike most FSIA claims, this exception creates a federal cause of action allowing recovery of economic damages, pain and suffering, solatium, and punitive damages.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1605A – Terrorism Exception to the Jurisdictional Immunity of a Foreign State That is a sharp contrast to the FTCA, where punitive damages are flatly prohibited.