STATUS REPORT: TORT LIABILITY AMONG STATE HIGHWAY AGENCIES

This paper summarizes the status of sovereign immunity and tort liability among state transportation agencies. The goal was to gather and interpret data to provide the best possible overview of the historical and current status of tort liability among all state transportation agencies. The majority of the data utilized to prepare this paper was provided by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) through reports of its Administrative Subcommittee on Legal Affairs. This was supplemented by telephone calls to transportation agencies in several states, by a review of the technical literature, and by comments and reports supplied by other members of the TRB Task Force on Torts. The following topics are discussed: sovereign immunity and its decline among the states; how sovereign immunity was lost; numbers and amounts of claims and suits; pending claims; numbers and amounts of judgments/settlements; types of claims; State Tort Claims Acts; insurance and self-insurance; increase in attorney staffs; and other topics.

• Record URL:
  • https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trcircular/361/361-005.pdf
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00978515
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Turner, D S
  • Davis, J K
  • Wood, B T
• Publication Date: 1990-7

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 77-112
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Circular
  • Issue Number: 361
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0097-8515

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Attorneys; History; Insurance; Insurance claims; Judgment; Liability; Loss and damage claims; Sovereign immunity; State departments of transportation; State of the art studies; Tort liability
• Old TRIS Terms: Suits; Tort claims acts
• Subject Areas: Highways; History; Law; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00495657
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jul 31 1990 12:00AM