If you were hurt on a Metro bus, the G Line busway, a DASH bus or a Metrolink train in the San Fernando Valley, the deadline that matters most is six months, not two years. LA Metro, LADOT and Metrolink are public entities, and the California Government Claims Act requires a written claim to be presented to the agency within six months of the injury under Government Code 911.2. The claim goes on the agency’s own form, to the agency’s own claims office, and a lawsuit cannot be filed until that step is done. Miss it, and the case is usually over no matter how clearly the driver was at fault.
Six months passes while people are still in physical therapy. This guide explains which agency you were dealing with, what the claim has to say, what happens after the agency responds, and why the onboard video and dispatch records need to be requested in writing within days.
Which agency were you dealing with
Transit in the Valley is run by more than one public body, and naming the wrong one does not stop the clock.
LA Metro
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, known as LA Metro, runs the Metro buses across the San Fernando Valley, including the G Line (Orange) busway between Chatsworth and North Hollywood, and the Metro Rail lines. If the bus had Metro markings, or you were on the G Line or a Metro Rail platform, Metro is the public entity.
LADOT
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation runs the DASH and Commuter Express buses in the City of Los Angeles. These routes belong to the City, not to Metro, and a claim for an injury on a DASH bus goes through the City’s claims process.
Metrolink
Metrolink is operated by the Southern California Regional Rail Authority, a joint powers authority of five county transportation agencies. Its Ventura County Line serves the Chatsworth station on Old Depot Plaza Road. An injury on a Metrolink train or platform is a claim against a public entity, and the same six-month rule applies.
Amtrak
Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner also stops at Chatsworth. Amtrak is a different kind of entity from the local agencies, so an injury on a Surfliner train should be reviewed separately rather than assumed to follow the Metro or Metrolink rules.
Private operators
Private charter buses, school buses run by private contractors and tour buses are not public entities. The ordinary two-year deadline under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 applies to them, and there is no government claim to file. Ownership is not always obvious from the outside of a vehicle, so the first job in any bus case is confirming who operates it. Our bus accident page covers both kinds of operators; this article is about the public ones.
The six-month claim under Government Code 911.2
The Government Claims Act sets up a two-step process. First, a written claim is presented to the public entity. Under Government Code 911.2, a claim for personal injury must be presented within six months of the date the injury happened. A phone call to customer service, a complaint to the driver, or an incident number from the agency does not satisfy this requirement. The claim has to be in writing and it has to reach the agency’s claims office within the six months.
Each agency has its own claim form and its own address for filing it. Get the form from the agency’s website or its office, confirm where it is to be delivered, and keep proof of delivery. Sending a Metro claim to the City, or the reverse, does not count.
What happens after the claim is filed
Once the claim is presented, the agency has a period of time to respond. It can accept the claim, reject it in writing, or do nothing, in which case the claim is treated as rejected once that period passes. Rejection is the normal outcome and not a sign the case is weak. It means the lawsuit stage can begin.
After rejection, a separate and shorter deadline to file suit begins to run. It is different from the ordinary two-year rule, and it depends on whether and when the agency sent a written rejection. Treat the rejection letter as the start of a new clock and get it to a lawyer the day it arrives.
What the claim must say
The agency form asks for the basic facts of the incident: the date and time, the place, described specifically enough to identify the route, the bus or train, the stop or station and the direction of travel, and the circumstances, meaning what the driver, the equipment or the platform did that caused the injury. It asks for a description of the injuries and the damages claimed, and for either a dollar amount or, when the amount is still unknown, the general category of damages.
Two cautions. The description of circumstances should be accurate but not argumentative, because the claim is a formal notice and can be quoted back later. And the injuries should be described broadly enough to cover conditions that have not fully declared themselves, since a claim that mentions only a wrist and then turns into a shoulder surgery invites a dispute.
Common ways people are hurt
Most transit injuries never involve a collision. The usual categories are these.
- Sudden stops and hard braking that throw standing passengers into poles, seats and the floor.
- Falls while boarding or getting off, including a bus that stops away from the curb.
- Doors that close on a passenger, an arm or a bag strap.
- Wheelchair lifts and ramps that are deployed or secured improperly.
- Pedestrians and cyclists struck by a bus pulling into or out of a stop, or turning across a crosswalk or bike lane.
- Falls on a rail platform, on station stairs or at the gap between the platform and the train.
Each category points to different evidence. A pedestrian case turns on the crosswalk rules that apply to any driver, covered on our pedestrian accident page, and a cyclist struck near a bus stop has the rights and duties of any driver, as explained on our bicycle accident page. Platform and station falls share ground with the premises rules on our slip and fall page.
Evidence that disappears
A transit agency keeps records a private driver never has, which helps only if someone asks for them in time.
Metro buses and trains carry onboard cameras, and the recordings are kept for a limited time before they are overwritten. The interior camera shows what the passengers were doing when the bus braked; the forward camera shows what the driver saw. Dispatch records show the route, the schedule and any radio traffic about the incident. Driver logs show training and prior events. Other riders saw what happened, but the agency’s report may not name them.
Every one of these should be requested by a written preservation letter to the agency within days of the injury, identifying the date, route, vehicle number and location. A letter sent in month five is usually too late for the video even though the claim itself is on time.
The incident report is separate. Depending on where the injury happened, the LAPD or the LA County Sheriff’s Department, which polices the Metro system, may have written it. Ask which agency responded and get the report number.
What a public entity case looks like
A case against a transit agency follows the same negligence rules as any other California injury case, with a few features that come from the defendant being public.
Comparative fault applies. Under Li v. Yellow Cab, California reduces the recovery by the injured person’s share of fault rather than barring it. A rider standing without holding a pole when the bus braked will hear that argument, and so will a pedestrian who stepped off the curb into the bus’s path. It adjusts the number; it does not end the case.
Medical damages are measured by what was actually paid or owed, under Howell v. Hamilton Meats. The billed amount on a hospital statement is not the measure; the amount the provider accepted, or the amount you still owe, is. That makes billing records part of the evidence from the start.
Punitive damages are generally not available against a public entity. Damages are for the actual harm: medical care, lost income, future treatment, and the non-economic losses of pain and limitation. A head injury from a fall on a bus or platform is easy to undercount early, and our brain injury page explains why treating physician documentation and neuropsychological evaluation matter.
The two-year rule still applies to private parties
When a Metro bus is hit by a private car and the passengers are hurt, the claim against the private driver runs on the ordinary two-year rule under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 and that driver’s auto insurance. The passengers may have a claim against both the driver and the agency, each on its own clock, and the public entity claim still has to be presented within six months.
The same two-year rule applies to a private charter bus, a tour bus and a school bus run by a private contractor, whose cases move without the government claim step. The mistake to avoid is guessing: a bus with a school district’s name on the side may be operated by a contractor. Confirming the operator in the first week decides which deadline governs.
How we handle these cases from the Chatsworth office
Manoukian Law Firm’s office is at 9520 Topanga Canyon Blvd, Suite 102, Chatsworth, CA 91311, near the Chatsworth G Line terminus and the Metrolink and Amtrak station on Old Depot Plaza Road. Transit injury cases start with the two things that cannot wait: identifying the operator and sending the preservation letter for onboard video, dispatch records and driver logs. Then we present the government claim on the correct form, to the correct agency, with proof of delivery, and calendar the lawsuit deadline the moment a rejection arrives.
Each case is prepared as if it will be tried. Consultations are free, by phone or video, at the office or in the hospital. The firm represents injured people throughout California, and you can see the communities we serve across the Valley and beyond.
Key points
- Metro, LADOT and Metrolink are public entities, and a written claim must be presented within six months of the injury under Government Code 911.2.
- The claim goes on the agency’s own form to its own claims office; get the form from the agency’s website or office and keep proof of delivery.
- After the claim is rejected or deemed rejected, a separate and shorter deadline to file suit begins.
- Onboard video, dispatch records and driver logs are kept for a limited time; request them in writing within days.
- Comparative fault under Li v. Yellow Cab reduces a recovery without barring it, and punitive damages are generally not available against a public entity.
- Private charter, tour and contractor-run school buses, and a private driver who hit a bus, are on the two-year rule under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1.
Frequently asked questions
Does reporting the injury to the bus driver count as filing a claim?
No. Telling the driver, calling customer service or receiving an incident number creates a record, which is useful, but it is not a written government claim. The claim must be presented in writing to the agency’s claims office within six months under Government Code 911.2.
I was hurt on the G Line. Is that Metro or the City?
The G Line is run by LA Metro, so the claim goes to Metro. DASH and Commuter Express routes are run by LADOT, a City department, and their claims go through the City’s process. When the markings are unclear, note the vehicle number and route and let a lawyer confirm the operator.
What if I was hit by a Metro bus while walking or riding a bike?
You do not have to be a passenger. A pedestrian or cyclist struck by a Metro bus has a claim against the agency, and the six-month rule applies the same way. The crosswalk and bike lane rules that govern any driver apply to the bus operator.
What if I missed the six-month deadline?
Talk to a lawyer immediately rather than assuming the case is over. There are limited circumstances in which a late claim can be presented with an application to the agency, and those rules are strict and time-limited themselves. The sooner it is reviewed, the more options remain.
If you were hurt on or by a Metro bus, a DASH bus or a Metrolink train anywhere in the San Fernando Valley, call Manoukian Law Firm at (818) 818-5031 or reach us through our contact page. We speak English, Spanish and Armenian, the consultation is free, and there is no fee unless we win.
