A RECENT CASE In a recent case, the Plaintiff managed to jump out of the way of a fire department vehicle which struck a person standing next to the Plaintiff. Thinking that she was not seriously injured, the Plaintiff did not pursue litigation. The seemingly minor injury eventually turned into a serious injury which required [...]

NOTICE OF CLAIM | MUNICIPAL LIABILITY | SPECIAL USE Until 2003 the City of New York was primarily responsible for injuries incurred by individuals through cracks, potholes and uneven surfaces on City sidewalks. The primary responsibility shifted in 2003, through City Council legislation, that made the abutting commercial or residential landowners primarily responsible. However, in [...]

THE  “LATE”  NOTICE OF CLAIM While this subject was already touched upon in our (now archived) blog post of November 20, 2009, the significant number of calls received which include expressions of fear that a belatedly recognized Notice of Claim filing requirement may have been missed, prompts this additional posting. The major technical standard that [...]

PART III : BEGINNING LITIGATION The beginning of litigation refers to the start of an actual lawsuit. In cases where a NOTICE OF CLAIM was required to be filed, the law prohibits the commencement of legal action before the Notice of Claim is filed AND before the agency or governmental subdivision against which it was [...]

“Ignorance is no excuse”! How often have we heard that expression. And nowhere is that expression more appropriate, and often times more painful, than when applied to cases that require, as a condition to beginning a lawsuit, the proper filing of a “Notice of Claim”. If, for almost any reason whatsoever, you do not file [...]

ELEVATOR ACCIDENTS in New York City| NYC | Attorney In New York City tens of thousands of buildings utilize elevators for their tenants. Among these are 340 public housing complexes, mostly composed of multiple buildings, each of which usually has an elevator. The New York City Housing Authority, the City’s largest landlord, incorporates 3,338 elevators [...]

Any number of accidents might end up in a lawsuit against a municipality–perhaps the very city, town or village where you live.   BEWARE!  Rules that apply to such cases, or lawsuits involving many governmental agencies such as public hospitals and transportation systems, schools and government owned utilities, have strict special requirements that do not apply [...]