(A complaint form that plaintiff’s mother filed with the school district did not constitute substantial compliance with the Government Claims Act because it did not indicate that plaintiff sought damages or provide any estimate of the amount of damages sought. The school district was not required to inform plaintiff about the ways in which the complaint failed to satisfy Claims Act requirements because the complaint did not clearly indicate that it was an attempt to file a claim–most importantly, it did not indicate that unless the demand was met litigation would be filed–the essential characteristic of a government claim. Plaintiff couldn’t claim equitable estoppel since he was represented by counsel during at least part of the 6 months during which a proper claim could have been filed.