Does the statute of limitations applicable to this cause of action, the Government Tort Claims Act, preclude a plaintiff from bringing an action against a governmental entity within the applicable statute of limitation?

The prescribed statutes of limitations for commencement of actions against governmental entities are mandatory and must be strictly complied with. (Anson v. County of Merced (1988) 202 Cal.App.3d 1195, 1200, 249 Cal.Rptr. 457, citing Smith v. City and County of San Francisco (1977) 68 Cal.App.3d 227, 230, 137 Cal.Rptr. 146.) Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5, the limitations statute applicable to this cause of action, does not relieve a litigant of complying with the time limits and requirements imposed by the Government Tort Claims Act. (Anson v. County of Merced, supra, 202 Cal.App.3d 1195, 1202, 249 Cal.Rptr. 457.)