What is Sovereign Immunity?
Sovereign immunity, also known as governmental immunity, is just what it sounds like: an immunity from being held legally responsible, specifically from lawsuits. This principle has been in place in the United States since at least 1793, and it prohibits any person from suing against the government unless the government allows the lawsuit.
Sovereign immunity laws vary from one state to the next. In general, though, it is more likely that a local or state government will make an exception to its own immunity in the case of an accident involving an emergency vehicle.
That does not mean that the case will be easy. Courts tend to be much more forgiving toward emergency responders if the accident occurred during a real emergency.
As another legal source explains it, “The threshold for proving driver responsibility and fault is significantly higher when you’re suing the government…than what is required in a typical accident case.”
https://www.frg-law.com/truck-accident-blog/fire-truck-accident/
