There is one rule in California injury law that ends more cases than any other. Not because it is complicated, but because most injury victims do not know it exists until it is too late. When a public entity may share fault in a California injury, the ordinary two-year filing deadline does not apply. A different rule does. It gives you six months.
Here is how it works, why it exists, and what you need to know to protect a claim.
The Rule at a Glance
Under California Government Code §911.2, any injury victim who intends to make a claim against a California public entity must file a written administrative claim with that entity within six months of the date of the injury. This is not a lawsuit. It is a paper claim, delivered to a specific claims office, in a specific form, with specific content requirements.
The public entity then has 45 days under Government Code §912.4 to respond. If it rejects the claim (which is the usual response), or if it does not respond at all, then a civil lawsuit becomes available, subject to a further shortened deadline under Government Code §945.6, generally six months from the rejection.
If the six-month claim is not filed, the public-entity part of the case is generally barred. The ordinary two-year statute of limitations under California Code of Civil Procedure §335.1 does not save it.
Why This Rule Exists
California, like most states, requires early notice of claims against public bodies. The theory is that public entities need to investigate accidents while evidence is fresh, budget for potential liabilities, and manage their exposure. In practice, the rule works as a filter: it screens out injury victims who do not know the rule exists, do not have counsel, or do not act quickly.
That is a hard reality, but it is the reality. And it is why every California injury case with any potential public-entity angle should be evaluated in the first days after the incident, not the first year.
Who Counts As a “Public Entity”
The Government Claims Act reaches far. “Public entity” under Government Code §811.2 includes:
- The State of California and all its agencies (including Caltrans, the DMV, the California Highway Patrol, the Department of Corrections, and every other state department).
- Counties (all 58, including LA County).
- Cities (all 482 California cities, including the City of Los Angeles).
- School districts and community college districts.
- Special districts (transit, water, sanitation, harbor, park, and dozens of other categories).
- Public authorities and joint powers agencies.
- Employees of any of the above acting within the scope of employment.
If any layer of California government is potentially responsible, the Government Claims Act applies to that layer.
The Most Common Fact Patterns
Some situations where the six-month rule regularly applies:
Freeway and highway crashes with a road-condition component. Caltrans owns and maintains most of the California interstate and state highway system, including sections of the 405, 5, 101, 10, 15, 210, and Pacific Coast Highway. If the road design, roadway condition, missing or defective signage, malfunctioning signals, or construction-zone hazards contributed to a crash, Caltrans is a defendant.
Local street and sidewalk cases. Cities and counties are responsible for local streets and sidewalks. Uneven sidewalks that cause falls, unrepaired potholes that cause crashes, dangerous intersections, and construction-zone hazards on local roads generate Government Claims Act cases.
Public vehicles. Police cars, sheriff’s vehicles, city and county public works trucks, transit buses, school buses, and state fleet vehicles are all government-owned. Any crash involving one of them potentially triggers the six-month deadline.
Public property injuries. Government Code §835 makes public entities liable for dangerous conditions of public property they own or control. Broken sidewalks, defective playground equipment, unsafe park structures, water hazards at public pools, and hazards in public buildings all fall under §835.
Public school incidents. Injuries during school hours, on school grounds, on school-sponsored trips, or in district-run after-school programs are Government Claims Act cases.
K-9 and animal control incidents. A bite by a K-9 police dog or by an animal in the custody of animal control triggers the Government Claims Act, alongside the ordinary California Civil Code §3342 strict liability standard for the substantive claim.
Filing With the Right Office
The right office is jurisdiction-specific and unforgiving. Broadly:
- The City of Los Angeles takes claims through the Office of the LA City Clerk, which forwards to the City Attorney.
- The County of Los Angeles takes claims through the Executive Officer-Clerk of the Board of Supervisors.
- Caltrans and other state agencies use the California Department of General Services / Government Claims Program.
- School districts have designated claims administrators.
- Transit agencies (LA Metro, Long Beach Transit, and others) have their own claims offices.
Each has its own form, its own required content under Government Code §910, its own service method, and its own processing rules. A claim served on the wrong office can be treated as untimely.
Late Claims
Late-claim relief is available under Government Code §911.4 within one year of the injury, on grounds including excusable delay, mistake, inadvertence, or the claimant being a minor at the time of injury. Under §911.6, the public entity decides whether to accept the late-claim application. Rejection can be reviewed by the court, but the review is deferential to the entity.
For minors, the six-month claim clock still runs, but the late-claim process is more forgiving.
See also: Trulife Distribution Lawsuit: Allegations That Sparked Questions About Marketing Credibility
The Practical Takeaway: Six Months Passes Faster Than You Think
If the injury involved a government vehicle, a government property, a government employee on duty, or a road that might be state, city, or county controlled, treat it as a potential Government Claims Act case until proven otherwise.
The problem with the six-month rule is not that it is complicated. It is that most injury victims do not know it exists until the two-year statute of limitations starts to feel comfortable and they finally call a lawyer at month eight. By then, the public-entity part of the case is already dead.
At Ravan Law, attorney Ted H. Ravan reviews California injury cases for free within 24 hours and can tell you within that same call whether a public entity is likely involved and whether the six-month deadline applies. You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you. If any part of your injury may involve a public entity, talk to a Government Claims Act attorney today rather than assuming you have two years to figure it out. You may not.
Attorney Advertising. Ted Ravan, Ravan Law, Los Angeles, CA. This content is general information, not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case depends on its specific facts.
