Latest Reckoning: Are Utah Politicians Really Above the Law?

It has long been a practice to shield the government and those who work for it from lawsuits. It would hamper the government to have to respond to every person who was unhappy with it. However, how we think about this has begun to change in the nation and in Utah. 

Utah Law Protects Against Lawsuits in Most Cases 

The Governmental Immunity Act of Utah covers claims against agencies and those who work for them. It also describes limitations to that immunity. You can read 63G-7-101 here where it is outlined.  

The area where the government may not be immune is if the employee or agency was negligent or careless in its outlined responsibility. In this case it may be possible to hold them accountable in a court of law.

What Does This Mean? 

To understand how this works, it might be easier to look at possible scenarios. Let's say you visit Snow Canyon State Park, and you drop your water bottle in a bush along the trail. Trying to retrieve it, you get stung by a scorpion. 

You could not sue the State Park as it is a risk you take hiking in nature. There are certain risks to these areas, and we wouldn’t want them walling it off to keep the government from lawsuits. 

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Now lets say there is a trail in Snow Canyon that has become unstable due to erosion and the problem has been reported multiple times to the those in charge of fixing it. If it collapsed while you were riding over it, the state may be liable for damages. Even then, it isn’t a sure thing. 

This ability to sue for damages is a fairly recent thing. On a national level, the Federal Tort Claims Act has changed governmental immunity and it continues to be debated. It is an idea that is under scrutiny.