Rear End Collision
$2,300,000
Insurer offered$85,000
Spinal cord injury after a rear end crash. The insurer offered $85,000.
Serving New Mexico
NMSA 41-4-16: The 90 Day Notice for Crashes With New Mexico Public Entities
Hurt in a crash? The insurance company already has a team working on your claim. You should too. A free call tells you where you stand.
- No Fee Unless We Win (Costs May Apply)
- Se Habla Español
- Available 24/7
Your attorneyAndranik "Andy" Boyadzhyan, Esq.Founding Attorney. Licensed in New Mexico.Attorney advertising. Services are not available in all states.
Free consultationNo cost to ask. No obligation.
No fee unless we winCosts may apply. Explained in writing.
Available 24/7Calls answered day and night.
Se habla españolEvery step in English or Spanish.
Licensed attorneysA licensed attorney on every file.
By Andranik "Andy" Boyadzhyan, Attorney at Law. Meet the team
In New Mexico, a crash with a city bus, a county truck, a police cruiser or a State highway vehicle starts a 90 day clock for written notice to the government body that owns it. Miss it and that claim can be lost, and the law caps what a government defendant pays. Top USA Law serves the notice early.
What happens when a government vehicle causes a New Mexico crash?
The government can be held responsible for a crash its driver caused, but only on the government's terms, and the first term is speed. Within 90 days of the collision, the public body that owns the bus, truck or cruiser must receive a written notice describing what happened, when and where, and the injuries you suffered. Nothing about your treatment or your talks with an adjuster pauses that period. If the notice never arrives, the public body can have the case dismissed without ever answering for the crash.
The requirement lives in NMSA 41-4-16, part of the New Mexico Tort Claims Act. The same Act limits what a government defendant pays for an injury it caused. The cap is not printed here because it depends on how many people were hurt and what kind of loss is claimed; we explain the cap for your case.
Public entities in New Mexico crashes include ABQ RIDE in Albuquerque, RoadRUNNER Transit in Las Cruces, Rio Metro, city and county trucks, police and sheriff vehicles and State highway crews. Private charter and intercity bus companies are not public entities; a claim against them follows the ordinary three year rule under NMSA 37-1-8.
How does the 90 day notice work under NMSA 41-4-16?
The notice must be in writing, state the time, place and circumstances of the crash, and reach the correct office. A claim against the State goes to the State's risk management office; a claim against a city or county goes to the mayor, the county clerk or the administrative head of that body. Handing a copy to the bus driver or telling the officer at the scene is not notice. The Act excuses a missing notice where the public body had actual notice of the occurrence, but courts read that exception narrowly, and a crash report alone is not a safe substitute.
What the notice does not change
The notice protects only the claim against the public body. A private driver who shared fault in the same crash is pursued under the ordinary rules, with three years to file and no cap. Comparative fault from Scott v. Rizzo applies to the government defendant too, so a claimant found partly responsible recovers a reduced share rather than nothing. When a crash is fatal, the Act gives the personal representative a longer notice period measured from the death, and the wrongful death claim proceeds under NMSA 41-2-1 within the cap.
Two worked examples
A student on a bicycle is struck by an ABQ RIDE bus on Central Avenue in early September. Written notice must reach the City of Albuquerque before early December, the claim is valued within the cap, and the lawsuit follows the Act's own filing deadline. Change one fact: a pickup ran the light and pushed the bus into the cyclist. The city still gets its notice, but the pickup driver is sued under the ordinary rules, and neither the driver's liability policy nor the cyclist's own underinsured coverage is limited by the cap.
In the first week Top USA Law pulls the crash report and confirms who owns and insures every vehicle, because a bus in transit colors may be run by a contractor. We deliver the notice to each public body that could be responsible, keep proof of delivery, and explain in writing what the cap means for you.
See if you have a case
Three answers and a phone number. An attorney reviews your situation and calls you back, free.
Results in cases like this
T Bone Accident
$1,800,000
Insurer offered$120,000
Broken pelvis and internal bleeding at an intersection. The insurer offered $120,000.
Drunk Driver Victim
$1,500,000
Insurer offered$50,000
Traumatic brain injury caused by an impaired driver. The insurer offered $50,000.
Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict a similar outcome.
Where we help in New Mexico
Talk to a New Mexico lawyer about a public entity claim
Andranik "Andy" Boyadzhyan, the founding attorney of Top USA Law, is licensed in New Mexico and handles claims by phone, by video, at home or at the hospital; the firm keeps no office in the state. A lawsuit against a public body is filed in the district court for the county: the Second Judicial District Court in Bernalillo County for an ABQ RIDE crash, the Third Judicial District Court in Dona Ana County for a RoadRUNNER Transit crash. We meet clients at University of New Mexico Hospital, the only Level I trauma center in the state. See the New Mexico car accident lawyer page, the guide to the three year filing deadline, or call (877) 411-5291.
We serve New Mexico clients by phone, video and in person appointments arranged case by case.
Hurt in a crash? Talk it through for free.
New Mexico filing deadlines and insurance notice rules can be short. A free call tells you where your clock stands.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ABQ RIDE a public entity under the New Mexico Tort Claims Act?
Yes. ABQ RIDE is operated by the City of Albuquerque, so a claim for injuries caused by one of its buses requires written notice to the city within 90 days under NMSA 41-4-16, and the damages are capped by the Act. RoadRUNNER Transit and Rio Metro are treated the same way.
Do I need to send a notice if a police car hit me in New Mexico?
Yes. Police and sheriff vehicles belong to a city, a county or the State, and the officer is a public employee. Written notice under NMSA 41-4-16 must reach the correct body within 90 days of the crash. The officer's own report of the collision is not a substitute for that notice.
What if the government already knows about the crash from the police report?
The Act excuses a missing notice only where the public body had actual notice of the occurrence, and New Mexico courts apply that exception narrowly. A report sitting in a police file may not count as notice to the city's claims office. Serve the written notice anyway; it removes the argument.
What if the government driver was only partly at fault?
The claim against the public body still requires the 90 day notice, and it is reduced by your own share of fault under pure comparative negligence from Scott v. Rizzo. The private driver who shared fault is pursued separately under the three year rule in NMSA 37-1-8, with no notice and no cap.
How much can I recover from a government defendant in New Mexico?
The Tort Claims Act caps what a government defendant pays, and the cap depends on the kind of loss and the number of people hurt. We do not quote the figure because it is easily misapplied. Once we know who was hurt and how, we explain the cap for your case.
What if a private company operates the bus that hit me?
Then the 90 day notice may not apply, and the claim follows the ordinary rules with no cap. A bus painted in transit colors can be run by a contractor under a city contract. We confirm who operates the vehicle in the first week and serve notice on every possible public body.
Last reviewed by Andranik "Andy" Boyadzhyan, Esq., September 2026.
Get your free case evaluation
Three fields. We respond fast, day or night.
My wife was killed by a drunk driver. Top USA Law handled our wrongful death case with such compassion. They got us $1.2 million.
Client testimonials. Testimonials are not a guarantee, warranty, or prediction of the outcome of your case.
Talk to an Accident Attorney
Top USA Law. Services are not available in all states.
Takes 30 seconds. No obligation.