What is a claim?

Pursuant to the California Government Code, in most cases a claim must be filed if you are seeking money damages from the City and/or one of its employees. With very limited exceptions, no lawsuit for money damages may be brought against the City or any of its employees unless a written claim has been properly filed with the City.

Warning: The submission of a false claim is a crime (Penal Code § 72). The City of Lynwood may seek to recover all costs of defense, including attorney's fees and City resources used in defending the case, in the event a lawsuit is filed against the City which is determined not to be brought in good faith and based upon reasonable cause.

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1. What is a claim?
2. What are the time-frames for filing a claim?
3. Who is the City’s insurance company?
4. Do I need an attorney to file a claim?
5. Can city personnel fill out the form for me?
6. What do I do if the form does not have enough room for all of my information?
7. Do I need to submit documents? Pictures? Reports? Diagrams?
8. Will I be notified if information is missing from the form?
9. Does every page on the form need to be signed?
10. What if I received an error message submitting my claim online?
11. I am able to submit my claim, but unable to attach images, pictures, doctors notes, etc. What should I do?
12. Should I receive a claim number after a claim has been submitted?
13. What happens after my claim is filed?
14. How can I check the status of my claim?
15. When are claims paid?
16. Why was my claim denied?