Local Government Tort Claims Act

Local Government Tort Claims Act (“the LGTCA”), Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. Art. (1987, 2013 Repl. Vol.) (“CJP”) § 5-301 et seq.; Under the LGTCA, “an action for unliquidated damages may not be brought against a local government . . . unless: the notice of the claim . . . is given within 180 days after the injury.” CJP § 5-304(b)(1). “The notice shall be in writing and shall state the time, place, and cause of the injury.” CJP § 5-304(b)(2). [T]he notice shall be given to the corporate authorities of the defendant local government.” CJP § 5-304(c)(4).5 Even if a plaintiff does not strictly comply with the LGTCA notice requirement, a plaintiff substantially complies with the LGTCA notice requirement where: 1) the plaintiff makes “some effort to provide the requisite notice”; 2) the plaintiff does “in fact” give some kind of notice; 3) the notice “provides . . . requisite and timely notice of facts and circumstances giving rise to the claim”; and 4) the notice fulfills the LGTCAnotice requirement’s purpose, which is to apprise [the] local government of its possible liability at a time when [the local government] could conduct its own investigation, i.e., while the evidence was still fresh and the recollection of the witnesses was undiminished by time, sufficient to ascertain the character and extent of the injury and [the local government’s] responsibility in connection with it. This standard does not unduly burden potential plaintiffs. We hold that, to substantially comply with the LGTCA notice requirement, a plaintiff must indicate–either explicitly or implicitly–that the plaintiff intends 1. to sue the local government regarding an injury. A plaintiff does not “apprise a local government of its possible liability[,]” Faulk, 371 Md. at 298, 808 A.2d at 1272 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted), where the plaintiff simply demands that the local government fix a defect. Additionally, a plaintiff does not “provide[] ... requisite and timely notice of facts and circumstances giving rise to [a] claim[,]” where the plaintiff threatens to sue the local government, but neither explicitly nor implicitly indicates that the plaintiff intends to sue the local government regarding any injury. If you have been involved in a accident involving a local government, city, state or federal employee is important that you take action immediately to contact an accident attorney to be sure that your legal rights are protected. If you have questions please feel free to call me at 1-888-760-7339