Government Vehicle Accidents

GOVERNMENT CLAIMS MUST BE FILED WITHIN 6 MONTHS: You must file a government claim under California law within 6 months or lose your right to recover any monies, with very few exceptions. We strongly recommend you contact an attorney immediately if you are ever injured by a government entity (State, County, Municipality, District, Etc.). 

The specific law is the California Tort Claims Act. The California Tort Claims Act sets out strict guidelines for filing your claim with a governmental entity. You must file:

Within 6 months of the incident for Personal injury, Damage to personal property, and Wrongful death. If you do not file your claim within this period, you will likely be barred from filing a lawsuit. In some cases, you may be able to ask permission to file a late claim, but these are exceptional cases and you should never hope to evade the 6-month deadline by trying to fall within one of the exceptions.

THE GOVERNMENT CLAIMS PROCESS HAS STRICT REQUIREMENTS THAT MUST BE MET OR YOU MAY BE BARRED FROM RECOVERY: Before you may sue a public entity, you must first file a claim meeting the requirements of the California Tort Claims Act Government Code §§ 810-996.6). This law applies to public entities such as state, county, and local government agencies or departments, as well as to government employees. With very few exceptions, you cannot sue the government for monetary damages unless you have filed a written claim within the legally specified period. Even if you file timely, if the claim is not filled out with particularity, and as required by California law, you may still be barred from filing a lawsuit. Thus, it is very important to retain an attorney if you have been injured by a government entity.