LAUSD Injury Claim: How to File, the 6-Month Deadline and Claims for Children (Updated November 2026)

By Michael Shemtoub, trial attorney, Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.

Who this page covers

LAUSD is a public school district, separate from the City and County of Los Angeles. This page is for students, parents, staff visitors and members of the public injured at an LAUSD campus, on a district bus, or by a district employee. Before you can sue the district for money, you must present a written claim and let the district act on it (Gov. Code 945.4). A parent can sign and file the claim on a child’s behalf (Gov. Code 910.2).

Claims involving charter schools, private schools, a City park or a County facility may go elsewhere. See which agency do I file with.

LAUSD claim deadline: 6 months, including for minors

Being a minor does not stop the six-month clock for a claim against a school district. File within six months of the injury.

The clock starts when the claim “accrues,” which Gov. Code 901 ties to the date the ordinary statute of limitations would start. For most injuries that is the day it happened, though not always. The California Supreme Court has explained that the claim deadline is separate from the statute of limitations and runs from accrual (Shirk v. Vista Unified School Dist. (2007) 42 Cal.4th 201). Count calendar months from the day after the injury to the same date six months later. If the last day lands on a weekend or holiday, do not count on getting extra days. Some California statutes move such deadlines to the next business day, but we found no court decision applying that to government claims. File weeks early.

More: claim deadlines and claims for minors.

Where and how to file an LAUSD claim

Sources: LAUSD Liability Claims; LAUSD Risk Management; LAUSD claim form.

Send it by certified mail with return receipt. A claim mailed to the right address counts as presented on the day it is deposited (Gov. Code 915.2). Do not give the claim to the school principal or a teacher. The California Supreme Court held that a claim delivered to the wrong office does not count unless it actually reaches the official the law names (DiCampli-Mintz v. County of Santa Clara (2012) 55 Cal.4th 983).

The LAUSD claim form (English and Spanish)

LAUSD’s form is titled “Claim for Damages to Person or Property” (Board Secretariat, revised 2005). Download the English form or the Spanish form, “Reclamo por daños a persona o propiedad.” Both use the same 24th floor address. Name the school, the classroom or area, the staff on duty, and the date and time.

Whatever form you use, the law requires your name and address, where notices should go, when, where and how it happened, the injury or damage, the employees involved if known, and the amount; over $10,000, leave out the figure and say whether it would be a limited civil case (Gov. Code 910). The claim must be signed by you or by someone on your behalf (Gov. Code 910.2). Starting January 1, 2027, the signer must also declare that, upon information and belief, the contents of the claim are true and correct (AB 2529). Add it even if the form lacks it. A knowingly false claim made with intent to defraud is a crime (Penal Code 72).

Documents to gather

• The school’s incident or nurse’s report, and any email or call from the school about what happened.
• Photos of the injury, the playground equipment, the floor, stairs or field, and the bus.
• Names of teachers, aides, coaches, the bus driver and other students or parents who saw it.
• Medical records and itemized bills, and proof of a parent’s lost work time.
• Your child’s attendance and any IEP or 504 plan if supervision needs were documented.

Keep copies. Full list: documents checklist.

What happens after you file

Once the district receives the claim, the law gives it 45 days to act (Gov. Code 912.4). It can accept the claim, reject it, accept part of it, or offer a compromise. If it does nothing, the claim is treated as rejected on day 45. The 45 days can be extended only by written agreement.

If something required is missing, the entity has 20 days to send a written notice of insufficiency listing the defects, and then must wait 15 days before acting (Gov. Code 910.8). An incomplete claim is not simply thrown out. If no notice is sent, defects in the claim are generally waived, unless the claim gives no address at all.

LAUSD says to allow 7 to 10 business days for the claim to be processed after the Board Secretariat Office receives it (LAUSD). The decision comes later. More: after you file.

A rejection must come in writing with a warning that you have six months from the date the notice was mailed or handed to you to file a lawsuit (Gov. Code 913; Gov. Code 945.6). If no proper written notice is ever sent, the time to sue is generally two years from accrual. You cannot sue before the claim is rejected or deemed rejected (Gov. Code 945.4).

If LAUSD denies the claim

A rejection letter starts a short clock. You generally have six months from the date the notice was mailed or personally delivered to file suit in superior court (Gov. Code 945.6). The extra days the law gives for some mailed papers do not apply to this deadline (Gov. Code 915.2). The same deadline applies if you sue the employee, and a suit against the employee is generally barred if a suit against the entity is barred (Gov. Code 950.6; Gov. Code 950.2).

A denial is common and is often the start of the real negotiation. What matters is filing suit on time, with the evidence you will need. See what to do when a claim is denied.

Late claims for children

If you missed the six-month deadline, the claim is not automatically dead. The steps are strict:

1. Apply for leave to present a late claim. Send the LAUSD Board of Education a written application with your proposed claim attached and the reason for the delay, within a reasonable time and never more than one year after the claim accrued (Gov. Code 911.4). This applies to six-month claims only.
2. Wait up to 45 days. The entity must grant or deny the application within 45 days, and silence counts as a denial (Gov. Code 911.6). It must grant the application in listed situations, including mistake or excusable neglect that did not prejudice the entity, an injured person who was a minor, physical or mental incapacity, and death during the claim period.
3. If denied, petition the court within six months. You can ask the superior court for relief within six months after the denial or deemed denial (Gov. Code 946.6; notice wording in Gov. Code 911.8). If the court grants relief, the lawsuit must be filed within 30 days.

If a late claim is filed without an application, the entity can return it within 45 days with a notice. If it sends no such notice, it waives the lateness defense (Gov. Code 911.3). For minors this matters most. The district must grant a timely application when the injured person was a minor during the entire six-month claim period (Gov. Code 911.6(b)(2)). The California Supreme Court confirmed that a minor is ordinarily entitled to relief on a timely application, but also held that when the application was deemed denied and the six-month court petition was missed, the claim was lost (J.M. v. Huntington Beach Union High School Dist. (2017) 2 Cal.5th 648). The one-year limit for the application generally still counts time as a minor, except time as a juvenile court dependent without a guardian ad litem or conservator (Gov. Code 911.4). More detail: late claims against the City of Los Angeles.

Typical LAUSD injury claims

• Playground injuries from broken equipment, hard surfaces or poor supervision at recess.
• School bus incidents, including crashes and injuries while boarding. A public entity is liable for an employee’s negligent driving on the job (Vehicle Code 17001). See California bus accident lawyer and how to file a claim after a bus accident.
• Fights and supervision. A district can be liable for an employee’s negligence within the scope of employment when the employee could be sued for it (Gov. Code 815.2).
• Slip and falls on campus. Liability against a school district rests on statutes. For a property condition, the injured person must show a dangerous condition and that an employee created it or the district had notice in time to fix it (Gov. Code 835; Brown v. Poway Unified School Dist. (1993) 4 Cal.4th 820).
• PE and sports injuries in class, practice and games.

Childhood sexual assault claims against LAUSD

The six-month claim rule does not apply to these cases. Claims made under Code of Civil Procedure 340.1 for damages from childhood sexual assault are exempt from the government claim requirement (Gov. Code 905(m)). In a case brought against LAUSD, the California Supreme Court held on June 1, 2023 that Government Code 818 “prohibits the imposition of enhanced damages under Code of Civil Procedure section 340.1, subdivision (b)(1) against a public entity,” meaning treble damages are not available against a school district (L.A. Unified School Dist. v. Superior Court).

The rules for these cases change on January 1, 2027. Call us at (310) 552-6959 to find out how they apply to your situation. More: can you sue a school for sexual abuse, institutional sexual abuse claims and sexual abuse statute of limitations.

How to check the status of an LAUSD claim

Call LAUSD Risk Management at (213) 241-3139 with the claimant’s name, the date of the injury, the school and your mailing date. Keep your certified mail receipt and mark day 45 after delivery on your calendar (Gov. Code 912.4). More: claim status.

Related pages

• Claims for minors
• How to file a claim against the City of Los Angeles
• Claim deadlines
• Late claims
• Claim denied
• Which agency do I file with?
• California bus accident lawyer
• How to file a claim after a bus accident
• Bus accident lawsuit
• Can you sue a school for sexual abuse?
• Institutional sexual abuse claims
• Claims against LA County
• Claims against LAPD

Common questions

Important: This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; talk to a lawyer about yours. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Last reviewed: November 6, 2026.