Novato is a city in the North Bay Region of Marin County. The region was originally the site of several Native Americans villages inhabited by the Coast Miwok. The town officially became part of the United States in 1848 following the Americans seizing California during the Mexican American War. However, Novato was not incorporated as a city until the 1960s.
Today, Novato is known as the home of several major biotech firms, including Ultragenyx and BioSearch Technologies. Down in the historic district, you will find offices for Sony Imageworks, Birkenstock USA, and many other companies. Overall, Novato is considered a pleasant community to live and work in, and much of the credit goes to the city government. Unfortunately, there are times when city departments or the people that work for them are not as careful as they should be. Or, they may exercise bad judgment and engage in misconduct in their dealings with the public. As a result, innocent victims may end up with serious injuries and monetary losses.
Below are just a handful of accidents that can serve as grounds for a claim against the city of Novato:
- Fall-related accidents on city property – slip and fall or trip and fall
- Accidents with city owned or operated vehicles, including injuries to pedestrians
- Property damage due to negligence by city contractors
- Injuries from collapsing buildings and other structures
- Assault and battery, including sexual assault
- People being struck by falling objects
As someone that was harmed by the city’s failure to exercise reasonable care, you need strong and effective legal representation from a government claims lawsuit attorney. For immediate assistance, contact the offices of Normandie Law Firm.
Our Recent Verdicts and Settlements
$2.5 Million
$1.1 Million
$1.5 Million
$600,000
$525,000
$734,851
How to Seek Compensation for an Accident from the City of Novato
If the city of Novato is at fault for causing you injuries and/or property damage, you must seek payment by filing a City of Novato Claim Form. You can download the paperwork here and refer to the city’s website for instructions on how to file your claim. Please note that you only have 6 months to submit the forms to the City Clerk’s Office, whether you are mailing the claim or bringing it to the office in person. Under California law, you are prohibited from seeking compensation from a government entity if you are more than 6 months past the date of the accident.
Once your claim is forwarded to the city’s Risk Management firm, you will receive notice in writing. From this point forward, you will need to wait 45 days to hear back from the city in response to your claim. This should come to you as a formal letter in the mail, though some city governments choose to send a claim acceptance or denial by email. If your claim is accepted, you will receive a settlement offer to compensate you for the city’s negligence. But what if the city refuses to accept liability and rejects your demands for payment?
The City Rejected My Claim – Now What?
Finding out that the city denied your claim isn’t good news, but it doesn’t mean that you are out of options. In fact, city offices rejecting payments requests is fairly common, which is why you are allowed to take further action in the form of a lawsuit. From whenever your claim was rejected by the city of Novato, you have 6 months to file a lawsuit with the civil court system. Preparing a legal brief and petitioning the courts for the right to sue are complicated procedures, so please contact our law firm to get help from one of our legal experts.
In one way or another, you should get something in writing from the city agency that’s in charge of reviewing your claim. But if it turns out that 45 days have passed with no letter or email from the city, you also have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit. Since you didn’t receive a response from the city, your deadline for a lawsuit is 2 years, starting from the date or injury.
How Much can I Receive by Suing the City of Novato?
The amount of compensation from a city of Novato compensation claim can be anywhere from $5,000 to over $3,000,000 depending on many factors that are specific to your case. The injuries you have and how they negatively impact your life is the most important issue, but there are many other elements that are used to determine a case value. That’s why there is no accurate answer we can provide when people ask us for an average case value of a lawsuit against the city of Novato. The important thing is to speak with one of our attorneys and verify how much you are entitled to as a victim of negligence or misconduct.
How Long will a Claim against Novato, CA Take to Settle?
City government claims for accidents can take between 1 and 2 years to settle if you have moderate to serious injuries, while cases of minor injuries may be resolved in less than 6 months. Overall, we have found that claims against the government take longer to resolve than lawsuit against private entities, like commercial properties and homeowners. This is due to the claims process that has to take place before you can file a lawsuit, though this is just one of many complications you will encounter. To ensure that you receive payment as soon as possible, please consider working with a lawyer that’s experienced in accident injury claims against the government.
We Guarantee Free Legal Services for Accident Victims
That’s right – we guarantee that you will never pay a single penny in legal fees if you are eligible for an injury claim against the city of Novato. With our Zero Fee Guarantee, we charge the city government for all expenses related to your case. We receive payment only if you are compensated for the harm you suffered, so in other words, you owe us absolutely nothing if we don’t win your case.
Our law firm is here for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so don’t hesitate to call and schedule a free consultation.
Other Pages on Our Website Related to This Topic
How to File a Claim for an Accident with the City of Bishop, CA
How to File a Claim against the City of Big Bear Lake, CA
Cost Of Filing An Injury Lawsuit Against The City Of Los Angeles
