Generally when people are injured through the negligence of any government entity, they do not need to worry if there is enough insurance. However in certain situations, the government may not be responsible for the full value of someone’s injury.
The New Mexico state Legislature has imposed a limit on the amount of money that any branch of government would have to pay an injured victim. Only $300,000 can ever be awarded to cover medical expenses, and only $400,000 can cover the value of the injury itself including pain and suffering, lost wages, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, etc. This means that, in New Mexico, somebody can die as a result of the New Mexico government’s gross negligence and still only recover $400,000. Throughout the legal community this is known as a cap, meaning that the New Mexico government’s exposure to pay somebody for their injury is capped at $400,000 for the injury itself.