Governmental Immunity: the Effect of Theories of Liability After Initial Notice
| Publication year | 1986 |
| Pages | 232 |
| Citation | Vol. 15 No. 2 Pg. 232 |
1986, February, Pg. 232. Governmental Immunity: The Effect of Theories of Liability After Initial Notice
The Governmental Immunity Act ("Act") seeks to define all of the circumstances under which the state and its political subdivisions may be liable for actions premised on tort. With respect to circumstances in which the Act gives the right to sue, it imposes a condition that the injured party give written notice to the public entity within 180 days after discovery of the injury. CRS § 24-10-109 mandates that:
[Requirement] (1) Any person claiming to have suffered an injury by a public entity or by an employee thereof while in the course of such employment, is required to file written notice of such injury within 180 days after the date of discovery of the injury. Substantial compliance is a condition precedent to any action brought under this article, and failure to substantially comply shall be a complete defense to any action.
(2) The notice shall contain the folowing:
(a) The name and address of the claimant, and the name and address of his attorney, if any;
(b) A concise statement of the basis of the claim, including the date, time, place, and circumstances of act, omission, or event complained of;
(c) The name and address of any public employee involved, if known;
(d) A concise statement of the nature and the extent of the injury claimed to have been suffered;
(e) A statement of the amount of monetary damages that is being requested.
The term "injury" is defined in CRS § 24-10-103(2) as "death, injury to a person, damage to or loss of property of whatsoever kind, which could be actionable in tort".
The present provision, while having no relevance to claims based in contract or equitable relief, expressly provides that substantial compliance with its mandate of filing written notice of tort injury within 180 days after discovery is a condition precedent to any action. Neither the fact that the public entity already has knowledge of the accident in question nor the fact that the entity suffers no prejudice prevents a forfeiture of the right to sue in the event of noncompliance.
The purposes for the statutory notification requirement are to provide an opportunity to (1) investigate; (2) cure the...
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