Suing the City of Los Angeles for a Road Defect Injury: The Government Claim Deadline You Can’t Miss

You have six months. To bring a government claim for a road defect in Los Angeles, you must present a written claim to the City of LA or LA County within six months of the injury, not the two years you would have against a private driver. Miss it, and your case is almost always over before it starts.

Most injured riders learn this too late. The City and County have risk-management staff whose job is to enforce that deadline without sympathy, and the courts back them. A Los Angeles motorcycle accident lawyer who knows the Government Claims Act can lock in your rights immediately and carry the case forward when, not if, the city pushes back.

Step One: Present the Claim Within Six Months

Under Government Code Section 911.2 ^[1], a claim for personal injury against a public entity has to be presented within six months of the date the injury occurred. This written claim comes before any lawsuit; it is a prerequisite, not the suit itself.

The deadline runs from the crash in most cases, though it can shift if an injury was not discovered right away. Do not wait to see how you heal before filing. The safe move is to treat six months as a hard wall and act well inside it.

Step Two: What Must Go in the Claim

A government claim is rejected if it is incomplete. Government Code Section 910 ^[2] sets out what the claim must contain:

• Your name and the address where notices should be sent.
• The date, place, and circumstances of the crash, described clearly enough for the agency to investigate.
• A general description of your injuries and losses.
• The names of the public employees who caused the harm, if you know them.
• The amount claimed if it is under $10,000; if it is more, you state whether the case is a limited or unlimited civil case instead of a dollar figure.

Filing with the wrong agency or leaving out a required element can be fatal. Precision here is not bureaucratic fussiness; it is what keeps the claim alive.

Step Three: The 45-Day Response Window

Once your claim is filed, the public entity generally has 45 days to act on it under Government Code Section 912.4 ^[3]. It can accept the claim, reject it, or do nothing.

If the agency ignores the claim, the law treats it as rejected once the 45 days pass. If it sends a formal written rejection, a second clock starts: under Government Code Section 945.6 ^[4], you generally have six months from the date that rejection notice is mailed or delivered to file your lawsuit in court. These two windows are separate, and missing either one can end the case.

Missed the Six Months? Late-Claim Applications

If the six-month deadline already passed, you are not automatically out. Government Code Section 911.4 ^[5] lets you apply for leave to present a late claim, generally within one year of the injury, by explaining why it was late.

Courts grant relief only in narrow situations, such as a minor claimant, incapacity, or excusable mistake, and they have repeatedly held that simply not knowing the deadline is not a good enough reason. Late-claim applications are an uphill fight, which is the whole reason to file on time. Our overview of government claim requirements and late-claim applications walks through how this process works when a rider comes in after the window has closed.

How Haffner Law Handles Government Claims in Los Angeles

The road defect that caused your crash, who owns it, and how the deadline works are covered in our broader guide on when the city or state owes injured riders compensation. This page is about the mechanics, and the mechanics are exactly where these cases are won or lost. Haffner Law prepares complete, timely claims, gathers the agency’s maintenance and complaint history before evidence disappears, and litigates when the entity rejects a valid claim.

Joshua Haffner, nominated 2012 Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Consumer Attorneys of California, has more than 20 years holding well-resourced defendants accountable, including public entities that count on claimants missing a deadline. The firm serves injured riders across Los Angeles and works on contingency, so you pay nothing unless Haffner Law wins.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the deadline to file a government claim in California?

For a personal injury claim against a public entity, you must present a written claim within six months of the injury. If the entity rejects it in writing, you then generally have six months from that rejection to file your lawsuit. These are far shorter than the two-year limit for private defendants, and missing them usually bars the case.

What information goes in a California government tort claim?

Your name and a mailing address, the date and place and circumstances of the incident, a description of your injuries and losses, the names of any government employees involved if known, and the amount claimed if it is under $10,000. If the claim exceeds $10,000, you state whether it is a limited or unlimited civil case rather than a specific dollar amount. Missing elements or filing with the wrong agency can void the claim.

What happens if the government denies my road defect claim?

A denial is not the end. Once the entity rejects your claim in writing, you generally have six months from that notice to file a lawsuit in court. If the entity simply ignores the claim, it is deemed rejected after 45 days, and your window to sue opens from there. This is the point where having a lawyer ready to file matters most.

Can I sue Los Angeles County for a pothole injury?

Yes, if the County owns or maintains the road and the pothole was a dangerous condition it created or knew about and failed to repair. You still have to present a written claim within six months and prove the County had notice of the hazard. Roads in unincorporated areas and many regional routes are County-maintained, so confirming the right entity early is critical.

How much can I recover from a government road defect claim?

You can recover the same categories of damages as in other injury cases: medical bills, future care, lost wages and earning capacity, and pain and suffering. The amount depends on the severity of your injuries and the strength of the evidence that the entity knew about the hazard. There is no fixed cap on these damages in an ordinary road defect case.

Six Months Goes Fast. Call Haffner Law Today.

Against a government entity, the deadline is the case. The sooner a claim is filed and the agency’s records are preserved, the stronger your position when the city or county says no.

Haffner Law is based in Sherman Oaks and serves injured riders throughout the San Fernando Valley and greater Los Angeles. Call (213) 514-5681 for a free case evaluation. You pay nothing unless we win.

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