§ 8.01-195.3.Commonwealth, transportation district or locality liable for damages in certain cases.
Chapter 3. Actions · Article 18.1. Tort Claims Against the Commonwealth of Virginia · Last amended 2007 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-195.3 sets the Commonwealth’s liability standard and damages caps under the Virginia Tort Claims Act, lists seven categories of claims that remain barred — including legislative and judicial acts, tax collection, and unexhausted inmate grievances — and leaves individual-officer and local-government immunity untouched.
Subject to the provisions of this article, the Commonwealth shall be liable for claims for money only accruing on or after July 1, 1982, and any transportation district shall be liable for claims for money only accruing on or after July 1, 1986, on account of damage to or loss of property or personal injury or death caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of any employee while acting within the scope of his employment under circumstances where the
Commonwealth or transportation district, if a private person, would be liable to the claimant for such damage, loss, injury or death. However, except to the extent that a transportation district contracts to do so pursuant to § 33.2- 1919, neither the Commonwealth nor any transportation district shall be liable for interest prior to judgment or for punitive damages. The amount recoverable by any claimant shall not exceed (i) $25,000 for causes of action accruing prior to July 1, 1988, $75,000 for causes of action accruing on or after July 1, 1988, or $100,000 for causes of action accruing on or after July 1, 1993, or (ii) the maximum limits of any liability policy maintained to insure against such negligence or other tort, if such policy is in force at the time of the act or omission complained of, whichever is greater, exclusive of interest and costs.
Notwithstanding any provision hereof, the individual immunity of judges, the Attorney General, attorneys for the Commonwealth, and other public officers, their agents and employees from tort claims for damages is hereby preserved to the extent and degree that such persons presently are immunized. Any recovery based on the following claims are hereby excluded from the provisions of this article:
1.Any claim against the Commonwealth based upon an act or omission which occurred prior to July 1, 1982.
1a. Any claim against a transportation district based upon an act or omission which occurred prior to July 1, 1986.
2.Any claim based upon an act or omission of the General Assembly or district commission of any transportation district, or any member or staff thereof acting in his official capacity, or to the legislative function of any agency subject to the provisions of this article.
3.Any claim based upon an act or omission of any court of the Commonwealth, or any member thereof acting in his official capacity, or to the judicial functions of any agency subject to the provisions of this article.
4.Any claim based upon an act or omission of an officer, agent or employee of any agency of government in the execution of a lawful order of any court.
5.Any claim arising in connection with the assessment or collection of taxes.
6.Any claim arising out of the institution or prosecution of any judicial or administrative proceeding, even if without probable cause.
7.Any claim by an inmate of a state correctional facility, as defined in § 53.1-1, unless the claimant verifies under oath, by affidavit, that he has exhausted his remedies under the adult institutional inmate grievance procedures promulgated by the Department of Corrections. The time for filing the notice of tort claim shall be tolled during the pendency of the grievance procedure.
Nothing contained herein shall operate to reduce or limit the extent to which the Commonwealth or any transportation district, agency or employee was deemed liable for negligence as of July 1, 1982, nor shall any provision of this article be applicable to any county, city or town in the Commonwealth or be so construed as to remove or in any way diminish the sovereign immunity of any county, city or town in the Commonwealth.
Plain-English Summary
Section 8.01-195.3 states the core promise of the Virginia Tort Claims Act: the Commonwealth is liable for money damages for property damage, personal injury, or death caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of an employee acting within the scope of employment, to the same extent a private person would be liable under the same circumstances. That liability reaches claims accruing on or after July 1, 1982, and a transportation district’s liability reaches claims accruing on or after July 1, 1986.
The waiver comes with firm dollar limits. Neither the Commonwealth nor a transportation district owes prejudgment interest or punitive damages, except to the extent a transportation district has contracted to do so. Recovery is capped at $25,000 for claims accruing before July 1, 1988, $75,000 for claims accruing on or after that date, and $100,000 for claims accruing on or after July 1, 1993 — or, if higher, the limits of any liability insurance policy covering the negligence at the time it occurred.
Even within this waiver, the section preserves the individual immunity that judges, the Attorney General, Commonwealth’s attorneys, and other public officers, agents, and employees already had, to whatever extent that immunity presently exists. It also excludes seven categories of claims outright: conduct predating the effective dates; legislative acts of the General Assembly or a transportation district commission; judicial acts of any Virginia court; an officer’s execution of a lawful court order; tax assessment or collection; the institution or prosecution of a judicial or administrative proceeding, even without probable cause; and a state inmate’s claim, unless the inmate swears under oath that he exhausted the Department of Corrections’ grievance procedure first, with the notice deadline tolled while that grievance is pending.
The section closes with two savings clauses: nothing here reduces the liability the Commonwealth, a transportation district, an agency, or an employee already had as of July 1, 1982, and nothing in this article touches the sovereign immunity of any Virginia county, city, or town — local governments are not reached by this waiver at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much can I recover under the Virginia Tort Claims Act?
Recovery is capped at $25,000 for claims accruing before July 1, 1988, $75,000 for claims accruing on or after that date, and $100,000 for claims accruing on or after July 1, 1993 — or, if greater, the limits of any liability insurance policy in force at the time, excluding interest and costs.
Can I recover punitive damages or prejudgment interest from the Commonwealth?
No, not under this article. Section 8.01-195.3 bars both, except to the extent a transportation district has contracted to pay prejudgment interest under a separate Code section.
Can I sue Virginia for something a judge or the Attorney General did?
The Act does not disturb whatever individual immunity judges, the Attorney General, Commonwealth’s attorneys, and other public officers already have. It also separately excludes any claim based on the judicial function of a Virginia court.
Can an inmate sue the Commonwealth for injuries suffered in a state prison?
Only after verifying under oath that he exhausted the Department of Corrections’ inmate grievance procedures. The one-year notice deadline is tolled while that grievance process is pending.
Does this law let me sue my city or county government?
No. Section 8.01-195.3 states that nothing in this article applies to any county, city, or town in Virginia, or diminishes the sovereign immunity those local governments already have.
Amendment History
1981, c. 449; 1982, c. 397; 1986, c. 584; 1988, c. 884; 1989, c. 446; 1993, c. 481; 1998, cc. 203, 820; 2007, c. 250.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the
Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
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