The Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) is the taxpayer funded planning and operational body for Ventura County, California. It administers over the county’s highway, aviation, train and bicycle services. It also controls how government funds are used on its transportation operation, maintenance and projects. It even operates freeway service patrol tow trucks to assist motorists at no charge who have broken down or otherwise need to be towed to a safe location other than to a repair shop or the motorist’s home. Although VCTC services have been ranked as being very high, a commission that involved with the community is going to experience occasional accidents. Sometimes, those accidents and resulting injuries are the fault of VCTC itself.
Suing VCTC for Injuries Suffered in an Accident
If you are a passenger on a bus and suffered injuries when it was hit by the driver of another vehicle, you’d bring your claim or lawsuit directly against that other driver. If the accident and injuries were caused by your VCTC bus driver, a different procedural requirement arises in accordance with section 910 of the California Government Code.
The Notice Requirement
Pursuant to the California Government Code section 911.2, when VCTC is made a party to a personal injury accident case, the general rule is that a statutory claim notice must be served on it within six months of the date of the accident. The information required in the claim is as follows:
- The name and mailing address of the claimant where notices should be sent.
- The date and location of the accident and the circumstances that gave rise to the claim.
- A general description of the injuries sustained by the claimant and the damages or losses that the claimant seeks compensation for.
- If it is known, the name of the name of the VCTC employee or independent contractor who caused the accident.
- The amount of the claim and basis for the computation if the claim if for a sum less than $10,000. If more than $10,000 is claimed, the amount need not be included, but the claim is required to indicate whether it will be a limited claim of $25,000 or less.
Failure to Provide Timely or Proper Notice
A claim notice that is filed later than six months after the date of the occurrence will be barred. The claimant must substantially comply with providing the information required of the notice. The California appellate court has held that substantial compliance requirement is met when the notice contains sufficient information to reasonably enable VCTC to make an adequate investigation on the merits of the claim.
The Statute of Limitations
Here’s where the law regarding personal injury claims against VCTC becomes even trickier. The general rule in California is that a person claiming injury from the carelessness and negligence of somebody else has two years from the date of the accident to file their personal injury lawsuit. That’s also the general rule in lawsuits against VCTC, so long a claim notice is properly drafted and served. There is no rule that requires VCTC to respond to a claim notice. If it chooses not to respond, the statute of limitations is still two years from the date of the accident. If rejects the claim with a proper rejection letter pursuant to Section 913 of the California Government Code, the statute of limitations is only six months from the date of delivery.
Contact a Ventura County Personal Injury Lawyer Today.
Most people don’t realize it, but time is of the essence in bringing a lawsuit against VCTC. Full and timely compliance with the requirements that a VCTC injury victim must satisfy is required. Retaining a thorough and detail-oriented personal injury lawyer is of paramount importance in VCTC cases. After suffering injuries and damages in any VCTC accident, contact us here at Quirk Accident & Injury Attorneys, APC for a free consultation and case review. If we’re retained to represent you, any filings or the like that we make on your behalf will be proper and timely. Now that you know how important that the time element is in VCTC cases, contact us as soon as you possibly can after your accident for that consultation.