Typically, one must first give written notice within 6 months of the injury or discovery of the injury before filing an actual lawsuit in a California superior court, giving the governmental agency time to settle the claim.
Under the Act, the government can be held legally responsible for personal injury damages in certain situations.
[3] The Public Liability Act of 1923 established governmental liability and a claims process for injuries caused by the negligent or wrongful acts of counties, municipalities and school districts.
[4] In the 1961 Muskopf v. Corning Hospital District and Lipman v. Brisbane Elementary School District decisions, the California Supreme Court decided that the doctrine of sovereign immunity did not legally exist and would no longer protect public entities.
This law is often incorrectly cited as the California Tort Claims Act because the immunity is not absolute, and the Act provides exceptions to the immunity and a mechanism for resolving those claims that must be exhausted as a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit.