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Filing a Claim Against a Government Entity in California

Most people assume a personal injury claim works the same way no matter who caused the accident. But if the party responsible is a city, county, or state agency — a bus operated by a public transit authority, a pothole on a city street, or a hazard on government-owned property — the rules change significantly, and the timeline gets much shorter. Understanding these differences early can make the difference between a viable claim and one that’s barred before it even begins.

Why Government Claims Are Different

California generally allows two years to file a personal injury lawsuit under the standard statute of limitations (CCP 335.1). But if your claim involves a government entity — a city, county, school district, transit agency, or state department — that two-year window doesn’t apply in the same way. Instead, the California Government Claims Act requires that you first submit a formal administrative claim to the public entity before you can file a lawsuit at all.

This requirement exists because public entities are treated differently under California law than private individuals or companies. Lawmakers built in a process that gives government agencies an opportunity to investigate, evaluate, and potentially resolve claims before litigation begins. Skipping this step, or missing its deadline, can permanently prevent you from pursuing compensation, regardless of how strong your case might otherwise be.

The Six-Month Deadline

For most personal injury and property damage claims against a California public entity, the claim must generally be presented within six months of the incident. This is dramatically shorter than the two-year window most people associate with injury claims, and it catches many injured people off guard, especially when they’re still recovering or dealing with insurance paperwork in the weeks after an accident.

Some claims, such as those involving damage to real property, may fall under a longer one-year presentation period, and there are limited circumstances where a late claim can be submitted with permission from the entity. But relying on an exception is risky. The safer approach is to identify as early as possible whether a government entity may be involved and to treat the six-month window as the operating deadline.

What Counts as a Government Entity?

The range of situations that can trigger this process is broader than most people expect. Common examples in the Los Angeles area include accidents involving a city bus or other public transit vehicle, injuries caused by defective conditions on public sidewalks or roadways, falls on property maintained by a city or county, accidents involving vehicles owned by a public agency, and injuries occurring on school district property. If you’re unsure whether the property or vehicle involved was publicly owned or operated, that’s worth determining right away rather than assuming otherwise.

What the Claim Process Involves

Presenting a government claim isn’t as simple as filing a lawsuit later. It requires submitting specific information to the correct public entity, including the details of the incident, the nature and extent of the injury, and the amount of compensation being claimed, using the format and procedures set out by that agency. Errors or omissions in this initial claim can create problems down the line, even if the underlying injury claim is legitimate.

Once the claim is submitted, the public entity generally has a set period to respond. It may accept the claim, reject it, or take no action, which under the statute can be treated as a rejection after a certain point. Only after this administrative process concludes, and the claim is rejected or the response period lapses, can an injured person move forward with a lawsuit in court — and even then, an additional filing deadline for the lawsuit itself begins to run.

Why Early Action Matters

Because the six-month deadline runs from the date of the incident, not from when you realize a government entity was involved, delays in identifying the correct party can quietly erode the time available to act. This is one of the more common mistakes that can hurt a personal injury claim: assuming there’s plenty of time simply because the general two-year statute of limitations is well known, without recognizing that a different, shorter clock may already be running.

How This Connects to Other Types of Claims

Government entity issues can come up across many kinds of accidents. A pedestrian hurt by a defective sidewalk, a driver injured in a car accident involving a public vehicle, or someone hurt in a fall covered under premises liability or slip, trip, and fall law may all need to navigate this process depending on who owned or maintained the property or vehicle involved. Because the underlying legal claim (negligence, premises liability, and so on) still needs to be established alongside the procedural requirements of the Government Claims Act, these cases often benefit from an early, careful review of the facts.

Talk to an Attorney Before the Clock Runs Out

If you were injured and a government entity may have played a role — whether it’s a public vehicle, a city-owned property, or a public agency’s employee — don’t wait to sort out the details. The six-month presentation deadline moves quickly, and missing it can close off your ability to recover compensation entirely. The Law Office of Joshua P. Koshki offers free consultations to help you understand whether a government claim applies to your situation and what steps come next. Contact us today to discuss your case.

This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Please consult an attorney about the specific facts of your situation.