Lawsuits Against the State

Generally speaking, it is fairly difficult to file a lawsuit seeking damages against the state. First
of all, there is the problem of the 11th amendment, which enforces a state’s sovereign immunity. Fortunately,
there are often ways to receive compensation for the damages and injury that occurred without actually
suing the state itself.

The first thing to ask is whether the state is actually being sued, like an arm of the state, or if
the real target is a local government entity. It is not always easy to tell whether the party being
sued is one or the other from the name, so it is important to go through and figure it out first. This
confusing distinction is important because the state and its limbs can claim 11th Amendment sovereign
immunity while local government entities generally cannot claim the right.

If the entity is actually the state or one of its limbs, it is important to keep in mind that before
damages can be claimed, one must make sure that the state has actually unequivocally waived its 11th
Amendment immunity. The waiver cannot be waived constructively but requires express language or overwhelming
implications of the intent to waive the right of sovereign immunity.

Under some federal rules and laws and even some state laws, the state may have waived an area of sovereign
immunity by accepting federal funds or through passing an action on its own. Other federal statutes
basically require a waiver of state immunity and they are acceptable since they protect a right or interest
of an individual over the sovereign immunity of the state.

Contact a Harrisburg Personal Injury Lawyer

If you have been injured by a state or local entity, >contact the Harrisburg personal injury lawyer of Lowenthal & Abrams at 610-667-7511 to discuss your legal options.