Can a plaintiff bring a motion for damages against a public entity for failing to timely present a claim?

Government Code section 911.2 mandates that a claim against a public entity relating to a cause of action for personal injury be presented to that entity within 100 days after the cause of action has accrued. ¹ Section 945.4 provides that no suit for damages may be brought against a public entity until a written claim has been presented to and acted upon by the public entity. When a claim has not been timely presented, section 911.4 permits written application to the public entity for leave to file late claim. If the public entity denies the application, section 946.6 authorizes a petition to the superior court for relief from the provisions of section 945.4. Under section 946.6, subdivision (c)(1), the trial court shall grant the petition if the claimant demonstrates: (1) the application to the public entity under section 911.4 was made within a reasonable time not exceeding one year after the accrual of the cause of action; (2) the failure to timely present the claim was through mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect; and (3) the public entity will not be prejudiced by the granting of the petition. (Ebersol v. Cowan (1983) 35 Cal.3d 427, 431-432, 197 Cal.Rptr. 601, 673 P.2d 271.)