P.R. Laws tit. 32, § 3077a

2019-02-20 00:00:00+00
§ 3077a. Claims and suits against the Commonwealth—Notices

(a) Every person who has a claim of any kind against the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for damages to persons or property, caused by a culpable or negligent act of said Commonwealth, shall present to the Secretary of Justice a written notice stating in a clear and concise manner, the date, place, cause and general nature of the damages suffered, the names and addresses of witnesses, and the address of the claimant, and the place where he received first aid medical treatment.

(b) Said notice shall be delivered to the Secretary of Justice by registered mail or personally, or in any other authentic way recognized by law.

(c) The said written notice shall be presented to the Secretary of Justice within the ninety (90) days following the date in which the claimant became aware of the damages claimed. If the claimant is mentally or physically incapacitated for making said notice within the prescribed term, he shall not be subject to the above limitation but must serve said notice within the thirty (30) days following the date in which the incapacity ceases.

(d) If the aggrieved were a minor, or a person subject to guardianship, the person exercising the patria potestas or custody of the minor, as the case may be, shall be bound to notify the claim within the ninety (90) days following the date in which he became aware of the damages claimed. The foregoing shall not be an obstacle for the minor or person subject to guardianship to serve said notice within the prescribed term on his own initiative, if the person exercising the patria potestas or custody, or guardianship, fails to do so.

(e) No judicial action of any kind may be brought against the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for damages caused by a culpable or negligent act of the Commonwealth, unless the written notice has been served in the form and manner and within the terms prescribed in this section, unless there is just cause therefor. This provision shall not be applicable to those cases in which the liability of the Commonwealth is covered by an insurance policy.

(f) This section shall not modify in any way, for those claimants who fulfil its provisions, the statute of limitation established by subsection (2) of § 5298 of Title 31.

History —June 29, 1955, No. 104, p. 550, added as § 2A on June 24, 1966, No. 121, p. 377, § 1, eff. 90 days after June 24, 1966.