After Michael and Terri Shelnutt were injured in a traffic accident, they sued the Department of Transportation DOT and another motorist, claiming that the motorist was driving too fast and the DOT was negligent for failing to correct unsafe conditions at the site of the accident. The DOT moved to dismiss the suit because the Shelnutts failed to comply with the ante litem notice requirements of the Georgia Tort Claims Act. The trial court granted the motion and this appeal followed. We find no error and affirm. “The Legislature enacted the Georgia Tort Claims Act, OCGA § 50-21-20 et seq., in order to balance strict application of the doctrine of sovereign immunity against the need for limited exposure of the State treasury to tort liability. Norris v. Dept. of Transp., 268 Ga. 192 486 SE2d 826 1997. The GTCA expressly provides that the State shall only be liable within the limitations of the Act, OCGA § 50-21-21a, which includes the ante litem notice requirements in OCGA § 50-21-26. Norris, supra.” Georgia Ports Authority v. Harris , 274 Ga. 146, 149 549 SE2d 95 2001.
OCGA § 50-21-26 provides: a No person, firm, or corporation having a tort claim against the state under this article shall bring any action against the state upon such claim without first giving notice of the claim as follows: 1 Notice of a claim shall be given in writing within 12 months of the date the loss was discovered or should have been discovered; provided, however, for tort claims and causes of action which accrued between January 1, 1991, and July 1, 1992, notice of claim shall be given in writing within 12 months after July 1, 1992; 2 Notice of a claim shall be given in writing and shall be mailed by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, return receipt requested, or delivered personally to and a receipt obtained from the Risk Management Division of the Department of Administrative Services. In addition, a copy shall be delivered personally to or mailed by first-class mail to the state government entity, the act or omissions of which are asserted as the basis of the claim. Each state government entity may designate an office or officer within that state government entity to whom a notice of claim is to be delivered or mailed; 3 No action against the state under this article shall be commenced and the courts shall have no jurisdiction thereof unless and until a written notice of claim has been timely presented to the state as provided in this subsection. . . . Strict compliance with the provisions of OCGA § 50-21-26 is required. See, e.g., Kim v. Dept. of Transp. , 235 Ga. App. 480, 481 510 SE2d 50 1998.
