Under California law, an incarcerated inmate must exhaust all administrative remedies before suing the state in a civil action based on conditions arising from his or her confinement.

There is a six-month limit for filing an action after the Victim Compensation and Government Claims rejects the inmate’s government tort claim, but the time during which the inmate reasonably pursues administrative remedies is excluded from this time limitation set forth on Gov.C. § 945.6(a)(1) which states:

“(a) Except as provided in Sections 946.4 and 946.6 and subject to subdivision (b), any suit brought against a public entity on a cause of action for which a claim is required to be presented in accordance with Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 900) and Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 910) of Part 3 of this division must be commenced:

(1) If written notice is given in accordance with Section 913, not later than six months after the date such notice is personally delivered or deposited in the mail.”

Work with a lawyer who is an expert in personal injury in order to be properly guided on the steps to take when claiming remedies from the state.