Slip and Fall on LA Public Property: The 6-Month Claim Rule

By Payam Soliemanzadeh, Founder and President

Key takeaways

• The six-month claim deadline runs from the date of the fall, not from when you learn how serious the injury is.
• Each agency has its own filing office: the City Clerk for the City of Los Angeles, Metro Legal Services, the Board of Supervisors for LA County, and LAUSD's liability claims unit.
• Public entities can raise defenses private owners cannot, including the trivial-defect rule (Gov. Code § 830.2) and trail immunity (Gov. Code § 831.4).
• If the claim is rejected in writing, you generally have six months from that notice to file a lawsuit (Gov. Code § 945.6).

Los Angeles has thousands of miles of sidewalks, a rail and bus system that moves hundreds of thousands of riders a day, and hundreds of public school campuses. When someone falls on a heaved slab of concrete in Van Nuys, a wet platform at Union Station, or a broken step at a County building downtown, the claim follows a different set of rules than a fall inside a grocery store. This guide explains those rules for injured people in Los Angeles, starting with the deadline that catches the most people off guard.

Why public property claims follow different rules

A fall on private property in California is governed by the general negligence statute, Civil Code § 1714, and a two-year statute of limitations (Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1). A fall on property owned or controlled by a public entity is governed by the Government Claims Act (Government Code § 810 and following). That law does two things that change the case: it requires you to present a formal written claim to the agency before you can sue, and it limits liability to specific statutory grounds — most importantly, a dangerous condition of public property under Government Code § 835.

"Public entity" is broader than most people expect. In Los Angeles it includes the City of Los Angeles, the County of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), the Los Angeles Unified School District, community college districts, the State of California (including Caltrans), and the many smaller cities inside the county, such as Glendale, Burbank, Santa Monica, and Pasadena. Whoever owns or controls the spot where you fell decides which agency receives the claim.

The six-month claim deadline and what happens after you file

For personal injury, the claim must be presented to the public entity no later than six months after the incident (Government Code § 911.2). The claim form asks for the date, place, and circumstances of the fall, a general description of the injury, and the name of the public employee involved, if known. Filing the claim does not require you to prove the case; it gives the agency notice and a chance to investigate or settle.

After a claim is presented, the agency generally has 45 days to act on it (Government Code § 912.4). If it does not act, the claim is treated as rejected. If the agency sends a written rejection, you generally have six months from the date that notice is mailed or delivered to file a lawsuit (Government Code § 945.6). If no written notice is ever sent, the lawsuit deadline is generally two years from the fall.

Miss the six-month claim window and the case is not automatically over, but it becomes much harder. You can apply to the agency for permission to present a late claim within a reasonable time, and no later than one year after the fall (Government Code § 911.4). If the agency denies it, you can petition the court for relief (Government Code § 946.6), which usually requires showing mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. Courts do not grant that relief routinely, so the safest course is to treat six months as a hard deadline.

Where to file: City of LA, Metro, LA County, and LAUSD

Each agency has its own claim form and filing office. Filing with the wrong agency does not protect you against the right one.

• City of Los Angeles (City sidewalks, streets, parks such as Griffith Park, City-owned buildings): claims are filed with the Office of the City Clerk, 200 North Spring Street, Room 395, City Hall, either online, by mail, or in person. The Clerk does not accept emailed or faxed claims. The City Attorney's Claims Division then handles the claim.
• Metro (Metro Rail stations, platforms, escalators, bus stops Metro controls, and Metro buses): Metro accepts its Claims for Damages form by mail or in person at LACMTA Legal Services, One Gateway Plaza, MS: PL4, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Metro does not accept emailed claims.
• County of Los Angeles (County hospitals such as LAC+USC Medical Center, County parks and beaches, County office buildings, unincorporated-area sidewalks): claims are mailed or delivered to the Executive Officer, Board of Supervisors, Attention: Claims, 500 W. Temple Street, Room 383, Los Angeles, CA 90012.
• LAUSD (school campuses, athletic fields, district offices): the district's Risk Finance and Insurance Services liability claims unit processes Claims for Damages, which must be mailed to the address on the form. The district states its staff cannot accept hand-delivered claims.

Falls on state property, such as a Caltrans park-and-ride lot, go through the state's Government Claims Program. Falls on federal property, such as a post office, follow the Federal Tort Claims Act, which has its own form and a different deadline.

What you must prove: a dangerous condition under Government Code § 835

A public entity is liable for an injury caused by the condition of its property only if you show:

1. The property was in a dangerous condition at the time of the fall — a condition that creates a substantial risk of injury when the property is used with due care in a reasonably foreseeable way (Government Code § 830).
2. The dangerous condition caused the injury.
3. The condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of the kind of injury that happened.
4. Either a public employee's negligent or wrongful act created the condition, or the entity had actual or constructive notice of it early enough to fix it or warn about it (Government Code § 835.2).

Notice is usually the battleground. Evidence that helps includes prior 311 or MyLA311 service requests about the same sidewalk, earlier complaints to Metro about a leaking station roof, work orders showing a repair was scheduled but never done, and photos showing the defect had been there long enough that a reasonable inspection program would have found it. Much of this can be requested from the agency under the California Public Records Act.

Defenses public entities use: trivial defects and trail immunity

The most common defense in Los Angeles sidewalk cases is the trivial defect rule. Under Government Code § 830.2, a condition is not dangerous if the risk it creates is so minor that no reasonable person would conclude it posed a substantial risk of injury to someone using due care. Courts look at more than the height of an uplifted slab: they also consider lighting, weather, whether the edge was jagged or hidden by debris or shadows, foot traffic, and whether others had fallen in the same spot. There is no fixed inch-count that decides every case, which is why careful measurement and photos taken soon after the fall matter.

Other defenses include trail immunity (Government Code § 831.4), which can bar claims for conditions on recreational trails (courts have applied it to paved as well as unpaved trails) and unpaved access roads in places like Griffith Park or the Santa Monica Mountains, and design immunity (Government Code § 830.6), which can apply when the condition was built according to a plan approved in advance by an authorized public body or employee and a reasonable official could have approved it. Comparative fault also applies: the agency may argue you were looking at your phone or wearing unsafe footwear, and any recovery is reduced by your share of fault.

When both a public agency and a private party may be responsible

Many falls involve more than one potential defendant. A sidewalk outside a business may be City property, but the business may have damaged it with delivery trucks, created the hazard with a leaking downspout, or planted the tree whose roots lifted the slab. California Streets and Highways Code § 5610 places a maintenance duty on owners of property next to a sidewalk, and whether that owner can also be liable to a pedestrian depends on local ordinances and on whether the owner created or controlled the hazard. In those cases, the six-month claim against the agency and the two-year deadline against the private party run at the same time. Our guide on cases with multiple defendants explains how fault is divided when that happens.

What to do in the first two weeks

• Photograph the defect from several angles with something for scale, such as a coin, a key, or a tape measure, and note the nearest address or Metro station entrance.
• Get medical care and keep every record. Serious falls in central Los Angeles are often treated at LAC+USC Medical Center, Cedars-Sinai, or Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
• Write down witness names, and ask Metro station staff or school staff whether an incident report was made.
• Calendar the six-month claim date right away. Count it from the day of the fall.
• Before the defect is repaired, have someone document it. Agencies often fix a hazard quickly after a fall, and the pre-repair condition is the best evidence you will have. See our guide on preserving surveillance video — Metro stations and many City facilities have cameras.

Local details for Los Angeles

• County: Los Angeles County
• Where a case is filed: After a claim is rejected, a lawsuit is generally filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, where new personal-injury cases are generally heard in the courthouse for the district where the incident happened — Stanley Mosk Courthouse downtown for Central District cases, or district courthouses such as Van Nuys.
• Key deadline: Claim to the public entity within 6 months of the fall (Gov. Code § 911.2); lawsuit generally within 6 months after written rejection (Gov. Code § 945.6).

Sidewalk falls are common in older Los Angeles neighborhoods where mature street trees have lifted slabs, including parts of the San Fernando Valley, Mid-City, and the Westside. Metro rail stations such as 7th Street/Metro Center and Union Station, and busy bus stops along Wilshire and Vermont, see heavy foot traffic in all weather. Report a sidewalk hazard through MyLA311; an earlier report about the same spot can later help prove the City had notice.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I have to file a claim after falling on a Los Angeles sidewalk?

Generally six months from the date of the fall to present a written claim to the public entity that owns or controls the sidewalk (Government Code § 911.2). A lawsuit can be filed only after the claim is rejected or deemed rejected.

Can I file the claim myself?

Yes. Each agency publishes its own claim form. But the claim must be complete and go to the right agency, and what you write can be used later. Many people have an attorney review or file it.

What if I missed the six-month deadline?

You may apply to present a late claim within a reasonable time, and no later than one year after the fall (Government Code § 911.4). If the agency denies it, you can ask the court for relief (Government Code § 946.6), but approval is not automatic.

Is a small crack in the sidewalk enough for a claim?

Not always. Government Code § 830.2 lets a public entity argue a defect was trivial. Courts look at the size of the defect along with lighting, weather, visibility, and prior falls, so documenting the scene early is important.

Does the six-month rule apply if I fell on a Metro train or bus?

Yes. Metro is a public entity, so falls on Metro buses, trains, platforms, and escalators it controls require a claim to Metro within six months.

Related reading

• Slip & Fall Accident Attorney in California
• How to prove the owner knew about the hazard
• Common defenses in premises liability cases
• What to do after a slip and fall in Los Angeles

This article is attorney advertising and provides general information only — it is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. For advice about your situation, speak with a licensed attorney.