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2016 SESSION


VIRGINIA ACTS OF ASSEMBLY -- CHAPTER
An Act to amend and reenact § 8.01-195.6 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Virginia Tort Claims Act; notice of claim; electronic filing when notice filed with Department of Transportation.
[S 240]
Approved

 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 8.01-195.6 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 8.01-195.6. Notice of claim.

A. Every claim cognizable against the Commonwealth or a transportation district shall be forever barred unless the claimant or his agent, attorney or representative has filed a written statement of the nature of the claim, which includes the time and place at which the injury is alleged to have occurred and the agency or agencies alleged to be liable, within one year after such cause of action accrued. However, if the claimant was under a disability at the time the cause of action accrued, the tolling provisions of § 8.01-229 shall apply.

B. If the claim is against the Commonwealth, the statement shall be filed with the Director of the Division of Risk Management or the Attorney General. If the claim is against a transportation district the statement shall be filed with the chairman of the commission of the transportation district.

C. The notice is deemed filed when it is received in the office of the official to whom the notice is directed. The notice may be delivered by hand, by any form of United States mail service (including regular, certified, registered or overnight mail), or by commercial delivery service.

C1. If the claim is against the Department of Transportation, and the Attorney General has delegated settlement authority to the Department of Transportation for such claims, the notice of such claim shall be filed with the Department of Transportation. In addition to the methods specified in subsection C, the notice may be delivered electronically, in a manner prescribed by the Department of Transportation.

D. In any action contesting the filing of the notice of claim, the burden of proof shall be on the claimant to establish receipt of the notice in conformity with this section. A signed United States mail return receipt indicating the date of delivery, or any other form of signed and dated acknowledgment of delivery given by authorized personnel in the office of the official with whom the statement is filed, shall be prima facie evidence of filing of the notice under this section.

E. Claims against the Commonwealth involving medical malpractice shall be subject to the provisions of this article and to the provisions of Chapter 21.1 (§ 8.01-581.1 et seq.) of this title. However, the recovery in such a claim involving medical malpractice shall not exceed the limits imposed by § 8.01-195.3.