• Yes. The California Government Tort Claims Law requires the preservation of a state government tort claim to all the agencies you are planning on filing a lawsuit against within 6 months of the date of loss. If you don’t present a tort claim with the agency responsible, you may be barred from alleging state law causes of action such as Negligence, Battery or even the Ralph Bane Act. However, even if you fail to present a claim within 6 months but are still within 12 months from the date of loss, if certain exceptions are met, you can file a late claim within 12 months of the incident date.

What if I never submitted a government tort claim within the allocated time frame?

• You can still sue under federal law so long as you file the federal claims within 2 years of the date of incident.