Tort Immunity : Immunity From Personal Injury Liability

In certain instances, a person or entity may be immune from personal injury liability. One of the most common examples of immunity is sovereign immunity. With sovereign immunity, federal, state and local governments are immune from certain personal injury liability.

Many governments, however, have voluntarily waived their immunity from particular types of suits. For example, under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the federal government has waived its immunity to tortuous acts of federal employees. Similarly, private employers are immune from liability for their employees’ negligence when they act beyond the scope of employment. For instance, an employee who drinks alcohol during lunch and gets in a car accident while returning to work probably would not subject his or her employer to liability.