Last updated
By Ron McMinn, Esq. | Last updated November 10, 2026.
Read this guide in Español.
If you were hurt on a Metrolink train, at a Metrolink station, or in a collision involving a Metrolink train, California generally requires a written government claim before you can sue the agency that runs the service. That agency is the Southern California Regional Rail Authority, known as SCRRA. Government Code section 911.2 generally requires a claim for injury or death to be presented not later than six months after it accrues. Calling customer service, reporting the incident onboard, or opening an insurance file is not the same as presenting that claim.
Win Attorneys represents injured people throughout California from our office at 17291 Irvine Blvd., Suite 210, Tustin, CA 92780. We have no Los Angeles office and no San Diego office. We speak Spanish and Vietnamese. If you need help identifying where the claim should go, call us at (657) 235-8097. This guide explains the filing steps. Our Los Angeles Metrolink train accident page explains who may be responsible and how Metrolink claims differ from Amtrak claims.
Who you file against: SCRRA, not just the Metrolink brand
Metrolink’s member agencies page says Metrolink is operated by the Southern California Regional Rail Authority and serves Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, and North San Diego counties. It describes SCRRA as a joint powers authority with an 11-member board representing the transportation commissions of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties. The same page names those member agencies: the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), the Orange County Transportation Authority, the Riverside County Transportation Commission, the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority, and the Ventura County Transportation Commission.
Government Code section 6507 says a joint powers agency is a public entity separate from the parties to the agreement. Government Code section 811.2 defines public entities broadly enough to include public authorities and agencies. That is why a Metrolink injury claim is usually a claim against SCRRA itself under the Government Claims Act, not a routine letter to a private railroad insurer, and not automatically a claim against every city the train passed through.
Do not confuse Metrolink with LA Metro Rail. Metro operates the A, B, C, D, E, and K lines and accepts injury claims through Metro Legal Services on a published claim form. Metrolink is commuter rail run by SCRRA. A transfer at Los Angeles Union Station, 800 N. Alameda Street, can involve both systems on the same trip. Identify the train, the line, and whether you were already on Metrolink, still on Metro Rail, or in a station area that may be owned by someone else.
Metrolink does not publish an injury claim form
As of November 10, 2026, we did not find a published “claim for damages” form or a claims-office page on Metrolink’s website. A search of the site and of common rider-info addresses did not surface an injury-claim packet like the one Metro posts for its own system. Metrolink’s Civil Rights page explains how to file a Title VI discrimination complaint with Customer Relations at P.O. Box 812060, Los Angeles, CA 90081-0018, or by calling (800) 371-5465. That process is about civil-rights complaints. It is not a substitute for a Government Claims Act injury claim, and a Title VI complaint does not present a section 911.2 claim.
Because SCRRA has not posted a dedicated injury form, the claim itself is usually a written document that contains the information Government Code section 910 requires. If SCRRA later publishes a form, use the current one. Until then, a signed written claim that includes the statutory contents, presented the way Government Code section 915 allows, is the path the statute provides.
What the written claim must include
Government Code section 910 requires, among other things: the name and address of the claimant; the address where notices should be sent; the date, place, and other circumstances of the occurrence; a general description of the injury, damage, or loss so far as it is known when the claim is presented; the name of the public employee who caused the injury, if known; and the amount claimed if it is under $10,000 or, if it is more, whether the claim would be a limited civil case.
Be accurate, and say “approximately” when you are unsure of an exact time. Include the train number, line, direction, car number, station or crossing, and your ticket or mobile-pass record if you have them. Attach copies of photos or records you already have. Do not send originals. Starting January 1, 2027, people who sign government claims should also review our explanation of the AB 2529 claim declaration.
Where to present a Metrolink claim
Government Code section 915 says a claim against a local public entity may be presented by delivering it to the clerk, secretary, or auditor of the entity, or by mailing it to the clerk, secretary, auditor, or governing body at the entity’s principal office. If the entity has authorized electronic filing by ordinance or resolution, that route can also work. We did not find a published ordinance on Metrolink’s site that authorizes emailing an injury claim, so do not assume that an email to customer service presents the claim.
Metrolink’s Board of Directors page tells the public to contact the Board Clerk for questions about the Board and lists this mailing address: SCRRA Board of Directors, P.O. Box 812060, Los Angeles, CA 90081-0018. The same page lists the Board Clerk’s telephone number as (213) 452-0255, the fax as (213) 452-0422, and the email as boardsecretary@scrra.net. That mailing address matches the post-office box Metrolink also uses for some customer and civil-rights correspondence. Using the Board’s published mailing address is consistent with section 915’s option to mail a claim to the clerk, secretary, or governing body. Keep proof of mailing, such as certified mail with a return receipt.
SCRRA’s principal office is also identified in official filings. Metrolink’s 2026 board calendar lists Metrolink Headquarters as 900 Wilshire Blvd., 15th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90017. A Roster of Public Agencies filing posted by Metrolink, referencing Government Code section 53051 and dated October 15, 2026, lists the address for SCRRA board members as 900 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1500, Los Angeles, CA 90017, with the same (213) 452-0255 telephone number. Section 915 also allows a claim to be treated as presented if it is delivered or mailed to the address in the entity’s current statement on the state’s Roster of Public Agencies. Confirm the current address before you send anything, because offices move.
Personally delivering a claim to the clerk or secretary at the headquarters address is another route section 915 allows. If you deliver it in person, get a dated receipt. Do not treat a conversation with an investigator, a review of video, or an informal denial of liability as the claim itself. The statute requires presentation of the written claim.
Deadlines after a Metrolink injury
Government Code section 911.2 generally gives six months from accrual for a claim of injury to a person, wrongful death, or injury to personal property. Other claims, such as injury to real property, generally have one year. Accrual, for most crash injuries, is the date of the injury. Government Code section 945.4 generally forbids a lawsuit for money or damages until the claim has been presented and acted upon or been deemed rejected.
Government Code section 912.4 generally gives the board 45 days to act on a claim. If it does not act, the claim is deemed rejected on the last day of that period. The parties can extend the period by written agreement. If the entity sends a written rejection notice that complies with Government Code section 913, Government Code section 945.6 generally gives six months from the date that notice was personally delivered or deposited in the mail to file a lawsuit. If no proper written notice is given, a two-year period from accrual can apply instead.
If the six months have already passed, Government Code section 911.4 allows a written application for leave to present a late claim within a reasonable time, not later than one year after accrual. The application has to explain the delay. Government Code section 911.6 lists the narrow grounds on which the entity must grant that application. If the late-claim application is denied, Government Code section 946.6 provides a court petition. None of those steps is automatic, and none of them pauses because you were waiting on a police report or a medical diagnosis.
Code of Civil Procedure section 352 generally tolls some deadlines while a person is a minor, but subdivision (b) says that rule does not apply to causes of action against a public entity or public employee that are subject to the government-claim statutes. In plain terms, being under 18 does not by itself pause the six-month claim clock against SCRRA. A timely late-claim application may still have to be granted in some cases involving a minor. Get advice quickly rather than assuming childhood pauses the deadline.
Stations, crossings, and other defendants
Not every injury on a Metrolink trip is only an SCRRA claim. Metrolink planning documents have long said that many stations are owned by local cities or member agencies, not by the railroad itself. A fall on a platform, in a parking lot, or on an escalator may involve the city or member agency that owns that property, a maintenance contractor, or both, in addition to or instead of SCRRA. Shared stations can also serve Amtrak, Metro Rail, or buses. Identify the exact spot.
A crossing collision can involve a private driver who stopped on the tracks, a freight railroad if the crossing or the other train is theirs, a city or Caltrans if a warning device or roadway approach is at issue, and SCRRA if Metrolink’s train or warning system is involved. Passengers can have claims even when another driver’s car caused the collision. Freight railroads and private drivers are generally not subject to the six-month government-claim rule; Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 generally gives two years for injury lawsuits against private parties. Use the earliest deadline that might apply until the entities are sorted out.
Civil Code section 2100 requires a carrier of persons for reward to use the utmost care and diligence for the safe carriage of passengers. That common-carrier duty can matter for boarding, sudden stops, doors, crowding, and the gap between the car and the platform. It is a higher standard than ordinary negligence, and it is separate from the claim-presentation rules.
A federal cap can limit the total amount all passenger-rail claimants recover from all defendants after one passenger-rail accident. Title 49 of the United States Code, section 28103, sets that combined cap, and the U.S. Department of Transportation adjusts it for inflation. A Federal Register notice published August 5, 2026 (91 Fed. Reg. 50601) increased the cap to $401,900,000, effective September 4, 2026. The cap almost never changes the numbers in a single-passenger case. It can matter after a major derailment or collision with many injured passengers.
What to save in the first days
Write down the line, train number, car number, direction, station or crossing, and time. Keep your ticket, mobile pass, or fare record. Photograph the car, seat, door, step, platform, or crossing if you can do so safely, and never step onto the tracks to collect evidence. Get names and numbers of other passengers. Ask how to obtain an incident report number. Ask, in writing and early, that onboard video, station video, event-recorder data, and signal records be preserved. Those records can be overwritten.
Then calendar the six-month date and present the written claim. A video-preservation letter is not the claim. A customer complaint is not the claim. After SCRRA acts, keep the rejection letter. That letter starts the next clock under section 945.6.
Related pages
Read this guide together with our Metrolink accident page, our Los Angeles train accident page, our explainer on the common carrier duty and the six-month deadline, our page on being hurt at a Metro or Metrolink station, and our government claims guide. Amtrak injuries follow different rules; see our Amtrak accident page.
Talk to us
If you were hurt on or by a Metrolink train in California, Win Attorneys handles government claims and train injury matters statewide from our Tustin office. We speak Spanish and Vietnamese.
Call us at (657) 235-8097, reach us through our contact page, or start online with our intake form. Office: 17291 Irvine Blvd., Suite 210, Tustin, CA 92780.
This article is general information and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sue Metrolink right away after an injury?
Usually not. Government Code section 945.4 generally requires a written claim to be presented to SCRRA and acted on, or deemed rejected, before a lawsuit for money damages.
How long do I have to file a claim against Metrolink?
For injury or death, a written claim generally must be presented no later than six months after the claim accrues, under Government Code section 911.2.
Does Metrolink have a claim form I can download?
As of November 10, 2026, we did not find a published injury claim form on Metrolink’s website. A written claim that includes the information in Government Code section 910, presented under section 915, is the statutory path unless SCRRA later publishes a form.
Where do I send a Metrolink injury claim?
Government Code section 915 allows delivery to the clerk, secretary, or auditor, or mailing to the clerk, secretary, auditor, or governing body at the principal office. Metrolink’s Board of Directors page publishes a mailing address for the SCRRA Board of Directors at P.O. Box 812060, Los Angeles, CA 90081-0018, and official filings list headquarters at 900 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1500, Los Angeles, CA 90017. Confirm the current address and keep proof of mailing or delivery.
Is a call to Metrolink customer service the same as filing a claim?
No. Customer service and Title VI complaints are different processes. A Government Claims Act injury claim has to be presented in writing under sections 910, 911.2, and 915.
Is a Metrolink claim the same as a Metro Rail claim?
No. Metro Rail claims generally go to Metro Legal Services on Metro’s published form. Metrolink claims generally go to SCRRA. A transfer at Union Station can involve both.
What if I missed the six-month deadline?
You may be able to apply for leave to present a late claim within a reasonable time, not later than one year after accrual, under Government Code section 911.4. Approval is not automatic.
What if I was hurt at a Metrolink station rather than on the train?
The station owner may be a city or a member agency rather than SCRRA, or more than one entity may be involved. Identify the exact location and calendar the six-month date for every public entity that may be responsible.
What if a car on the tracks caused the Metrolink crash?
You may have a claim against that driver and still need a timely government claim if SCRRA or another public entity shared in causing the harm. Private-party lawsuits generally have a two-year deadline under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1.
Do I need a Los Angeles or San Diego office to hire you?
No. Our only office is at 17291 Irvine Blvd., Suite 210, Tustin, CA 92780. We have no Los Angeles office and no San Diego office. We represent injured people throughout California and speak Spanish and Vietnamese.