Crashes Involving Government Vehicles in Florida

Hit by a city truck, a school bus, a transit bus, or a sheriff's cruiser? These claims follow special rules — a damages cap, a mandatory written-notice step, and a waiting period — and missing them can end your case before it starts.

9 min read · Last reviewed August 9, 2026 · Special situations

Most crash claims are between you and another driver's insurance company. But when the vehicle that hit you belongs to the government — a city public-works truck, a county vehicle, a school bus, a HART transit bus, or a sheriff's cruiser — you've entered a different legal system with its own rules, its own dollar limits, and its own deadlines. Miss one of the procedural steps and an otherwise strong case can be dismissed before a judge ever looks at the merits.

This guide explains how Florida's sovereign-immunity law works, why there's a hard cap on what you can recover, the mandatory notice step that trips people up, and what to do. It's educational, not legal advice — and because these cases are unusually easy to lose on a technicality, this is one where getting professional help early genuinely matters.

Sovereign immunity, in plain English

Historically, you couldn't sue the government at all. Florida has partially waived that immunity through a statute — section 768.28 — which lets you bring a negligence claim against a government agency, but only on the government's terms. Two of those terms matter enormously: a cap on damages, and a required notice process.

The damages cap: $200,000 / $300,000

This is the part that shocks people. Under 768.28, a Florida government agency's liability is capped at:

• $200,000 to any one person, and
• $300,000 total for any single incident (across all people injured).

These caps apply regardless of how badly you were hurt. If a government vehicle causes a catastrophic injury with $2,000,000 in medical bills and lost earnings, the agency's obligation under the statute still stops at $200,000 for you. The only way to recover beyond the cap is a 'claims bill' — a special act the Florida Legislature must individually pass to authorize the excess payment. Claims bills are difficult, slow (often years), and political; they are the exception, not the plan.

One practical consequence: in a serious crash caused by a government vehicle, the cap — not your actual damages — often defines the case. It also makes any other available coverage, like your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, more important, since it may reach injuries the cap leaves uncompensated.

The step that ends cases: pre-suit written notice

Here's the trap. Before you can sue a government agency in Florida, you generally must present a written notice of your claim — and not just to the agency. Under 768.28(6), you typically must deliver written notice to:

• the responsible agency (the city, county, school board, transit authority, etc.), and
• the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS).

This notice must be in writing and presented within the time the statute allows (generally within 3 years of when the claim accrues). Skipping it, sending it to the wrong place, or sending it late can bar your lawsuit entirely — even if the agency clearly caused the crash.

The waiting period

You also generally cannot file suit immediately. After presenting your notice, you typically must wait for the agency (or DFS) to investigate and either deny the claim in writing or let a statutory period — commonly 180 days — pass. Only then can you file. This built-in delay is why these cases need to start early: you have to notice, then wait, then still file within the deadline.

You sue the agency, not the driver

In most government-vehicle crashes, the individual employee who was driving is personally immune. Section 768.28 channels the claim to the government employer instead. The employee can lose that immunity — and be sued personally — only if they acted in bad faith, with malicious purpose, or with wanton and willful disregard for safety, which is a high bar and uncommon in ordinary traffic crashes. So the defendant is normally the City of Tampa, Hillsborough County, the school board, the transit authority, and so on — not the person behind the wheel.

Which entities this covers

Sovereign immunity and these rules apply broadly to Florida government bodies and their vehicles, including:

• Cities and counties (public-works trucks, maintenance vehicles, official cars)
• School boards (school buses and district vehicles)
• Transit authorities (in the Tampa area, HART buses)
• Sheriff's offices and police departments (patrol cars — though emergency-response situations add their own wrinkles)
• Special districts and state agencies (including the Florida Department of Transportation)

When we analyzed a year of Hillsborough County injury lawsuits, these were exactly the government defendants that showed up: the City of Tampa led, followed by the county, the school board, HART, and the sheriff's office. (See our Crash Data Journalism report.) These crashes are a real, recurring category — not a rare edge case.

What to do after a crash with a government vehicle

1. Treat the scene like any crash — but note the agency. Get medical care (remember the 14-day PIP rule), call police, and record exactly which government body owns the vehicle (look for decals, unit numbers, and the agency name on the crash report).
2. Preserve evidence fast. Government vehicles often have dashcams, GPS, and maintenance logs, and buses frequently have multiple cameras. This evidence can be requested — but it may be overwritten on a schedule, so speed matters.
3. Use Florida's public-records law. Much of the relevant documentation (the crash report, vehicle records, some footage) is a public record you can request.
4. Don't miss the notice step. This is the one most people don't know exists. The written notice to the agency and to DFS is a precondition to your lawsuit — get it right and get it in early.
5. Get legal advice early. Between the cap, the dual-notice requirement, the waiting period, and a shorter negligence deadline, these claims have more ways to go wrong procedurally than almost any other crash. An attorney who handles government claims will calendar every step.

Deadlines — and why they collide

Two clocks run at once, and they can conflict. The notice to the government generally must be presented within 3 years of the crash. But the underlying negligence lawsuit is now subject to the 2-year statute of limitations that HB 837 created for claims accruing on or after March 24, 2023 — and you still have to build in the post-notice waiting period before you can even file. Because those timelines can squeeze together, the safe approach is to treat 2 years from the crash as your hard deadline and give the required notice as early as possible. Do not rely on the 3-year notice window as if it were your filing deadline. When a government vehicle is involved, talk to a licensed Florida attorney promptly.

The bottom line

A crash with a government vehicle looks like any other crash and behaves like nothing of the sort. Your recovery is capped at $200,000 per person, you have to send a formal written notice to two places before you can sue, you have to wait out an investigation period, and your filing deadline is short. None of that means the case isn't worth pursuing — it means it has to be handled correctly from day one. Document the agency, preserve the footage, send the notice, and get help early.

This guide is educational and not legal advice. The procedural rules for claims against the government are strict and fact-specific; for advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed Florida attorney.

This is general information about Florida law, not legal advice. Every crash is different — for advice about your situation, talk to a licensed Florida attorney. Reviewed August 9, 2026.