Court Opinion

ID: 9731992
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 16:04:02.146912+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:22.439350
License: Public Domain

WAGNER, Associate Judge,
concurring:
I concur in the result reached. In my view, specification of an exact date of an injury qualified by the phrase “on or about” does not render it uncertain for purposes of notice under D.C.Code § 12-309. The statute requires only that the statement contain the “approximate time” of injury. D.C.Code § 12-309. Moreover, a date qualified by “on or about” is widely understood and accepted as sufficient in civil and criminal proceedings. Whether the statement of location is fatally defective is also doubtful in my opinion. I concur in the result because the cause and circumstances of the injury were not stated as required. Further, we need not decide whether a prematurely filed pro se complaint, if timely, could satisfy the notice requirements of D.C.Code § 12-309 for purposes of a subsequently filed complaint. Appellant’s pro se complaint was served on the District after expiration of the six months notice period. Therefore, the untimeliness of appellant’s earlier complaint forecloses its consideration as notice in this case.