Claims Against the District of Columbia
Six months. Then the claim is gone.
D.C. Code § 12-309 requires written notice to the Mayor within six months of the injury before anyone can sue the District of Columbia for unliquidated damages. Miss it and the claim is barred — not weakened, barred, no matter how strong it was.
The rule catches an enormous number of valid claims. People spend the first six months in treatment, or dealing with an insurer, or waiting for a police report, and by the time they see a lawyer the door has closed. A timely police report can satisfy the requirement in some circumstances, but that is a narrow and fact-specific rule and not something to rely on.
What the notice has to contain
The approximate time, place, cause, and circumstances of the injury. Vague is not good enough — the District litigates the adequacy of these notices, and a notice that omits the cause or misstates the location can fail even when it was filed on time.
If you were hurt on District property, a District sidewalk, or by a District vehicle or employee, call today rather than next month.
We have brought claims against the District, and it has paid them. In one matter, a pedestrian injured at a public roadway construction site recovered from both the private contractor's insurer and the District itself.
How long do I have to sue the District? → · Claims against the federal government →
More than $32 million recovered.
Plus more than $22 million in other assets.
Across more than 250 matters, in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.
These case results are examples of matters handled by Posey Lebowitz PLLC. The outcome of any case depends on the specific facts and legal circumstances of that case. These results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future matter. Amounts shown are gross recoveries before attorney's fees, case expenses, and medical liens. Asset values are stated as of 2026 and will change.