The Honorable Joe Earnest 

County Attorney 

Mitchell County 

P. 0. Box 443 

Colorado City, Texas 79512 

Opinion No. H- 139 

Re: Whether County prisoners 

may work on county roads, 

etc., and if so, how may 

the county protect itself 

Dear Mr. Earnest: 

from, lawsuits if prisoners 

sustaininjuries?. 

You have asked for our opinion concerning two questions. involving 

voluntary work of county jail prisoners: ‘(1) May they. work on county roads, 

the cour.thopse grounds and in county cemeteries; and.(Z) Should a prisoner, 

while doing such work susmid injury, how is the county protected from lawsuits? “. ., 

. . 

In answeri&tl&e questions;.we aa&me that the .cemeteries to which 

you refer are county-owned cemeteries. If not, our answer as to them, 

would be that county prisoners could not be used on other than county cemeteries. See, for instance, Attorney General Opinion No. 1061(1939). 

In answer to your first inquiry you are advised that the county may initiate 

programs for,prisoners to work maintaining and repairing county-owned 

property on a voluntary, basis. 

Your other inquiry ‘concerns possible lawsuits against the county. Your 

county, of course, is protected from liability for injuries sustained by reason 

of the tortious or negligent acts of its agents and employees by the doctrine 

of sovereign immunity. 15 Tex. Jur. 2d, Counties, 8 106. The only exception 

to this is set forth in Article 6252-19, Vernon’s Texas Civil Statutes, the 

Texas Tort Claims Act, which provides for the liability of a “unit of government”. including counties, under two circumstances set out in $ 3 of the Act: 

(1) for personal injuries or death caused by a negligent act or omission 

of a county employee acting within the scope of his employment and “arising 

from the operation or use of a motor-driven vehicle and motor-driven 

equipment;” and (2) under circumstances where the unit of government, if a 

private person would be personally liable for injuries or death caused from 

some condition of use of “tangible property, real or personal. ” 

p. 663 
The Honorable Joe Earnest, page 2 (H-139) 

It is our opinion that the liability imposed by this Act upon a county 

for injuries to a prisoner while performing work for the county is no 

different from that imposed upon the county for injuries to a prisoner 

while he is not working which, in turn, may be no different from the 

liability imposed for injury to any other person. Dancer v. City of 

Houston, 384 S. W. 2d 340 (Tex. 1964). 

The county may protect itself from lawsuits growing out of a liability 

in those cases where enactment of the Texas Tort Claims Act has abrogated its immunity from liability for tort by the purchase of liab.ility 

insurance. Attorney General Opinion No. WW-813 (~1960). M-989(1971) and 

see Letter Advisory No. 24 (1973) and Attorney General Opinion No. H-70 

(1973). 

SUMMARY 

A commissioners court may allow county prisoners 

to work repairing and maintaining county property and, 

the county is immune from liability to such prisoners 

except under circumstances wherein the Texas Tort 

Claims Act would be applicable. in which event it may 

be protected by liability insurance. 

Very truly yours, 

JOHN L. HILL 

// Attorney Ganeral.of Texas 

DAVID M KENDALL, Chairman 

Opinion Committee 

p. 664