The rules for filing government tort claims under California law might seem fairly straightforward when an individual suffers some sort of harm on a specific day: in general, the claim should be filed within six months of the triggering event.
But what about when the harm is still continuing at the time the form is being filed — for example, if some sort of discrimination is persisting, or if a physical harm is still being inflicted with each new day? Is it sufficient to simply state on the form that the harm is “ongoing”?
Stuck in the Mud: Even a harm that is ongoing can be said to have started at some specific point, and that needs to be spelled out in a government tort claim form.
That was the approach of the police officer appellants in a case called Khedr v. Superior Court, published this week in California, where the nature of the underlying concern was that the officers were being retaliated against in their workplace for being whistle-blowers to financial impropriety. The officers’ tort claims asserted that their date of loss was “numerous—loss is ongoing.”
Unfortunately, that does not meet, or even “substantially comply,” with the requirements of Government Code section 910, which mandates that a date or date range be provided. So the appellants lost in the Superior Court and lost again in the appellate court. There are some wrinkles to the analysis, but the takeaway is simple enough: specific a date of injury in a tort claim form, even if the injury is continuing to occur or ongoing in nature.
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Related Post: How Do I File a Government Tort Claim Form in California?