Hurt by the City? Your clock is 90 days, not three years.

Most injury cases in New York give you three years to file a lawsuit (CPLR §214). When the party responsible is the City of New York or one of its public agencies, the first deadline arrives much sooner. Before you can sue, you have to serve a formal notice of claim, and in most cases it is due within 90 days of the accident.

People miss this deadline every year, often for understandable reasons. They are in the hospital, they are waiting to see if they get better, or nobody told them the rule was different. By the time they call a lawyer, the 90 days have passed and the case has become much harder, sometimes impossible.

Why claims against the City are different

The notice of claim gives the City an early chance to investigate: to look at the pothole, the broken stair or the bus video while it still exists, and to decide whether to settle. The requirement comes from General Municipal Law §50-e, and other state laws apply the same rule to public authorities such as the MTA and NYCHA.

Who the 90-day rule covers

The notice requirement applies when the party responsible is:

• The City of New York and its agencies, including the NYPD, the Department of Sanitation, the Department of Transportation, the Parks Department and the Fire Department
• NYC Transit and the MTA, for accidents on subways, buses, platforms and stairs
• NYCHA, the New York City Housing Authority, for accidents in public housing buildings and grounds

Other public bodies have their own rules. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs LaGuardia and JFK airports, has a separate notice requirement and a one-year deadline to sue. If you are not sure who owns the place or the vehicle involved, that is one of the first things a lawyer should find out.

The deadlines, side by side

90 days to serve the notice of claim, counted from the date of the accident.

One year and 90 days to file the lawsuit, also counted from the date of the accident (General Municipal Law §50-i).

Wrongful death: the notice is due within 90 days of the appointment of the estate’s representative, and the lawsuit within two years of the date of death.

You also have to wait at least 30 days after serving the notice before filing suit, which gives the City time to respond. When the accident caused a death, our page on wrongful death claims explains how the estate’s representative is appointed.

What goes in a notice of claim

The notice has to be in writing and sworn. It sets out:

1. The name and address of the person making the claim, and of their lawyer
2. The nature of the claim
3. The time and place of the accident, and how it happened
4. The injuries and damages, as far as they are known at that point

Be exact about the place and how it happened. A notice that names the wrong corner, or describes a defect too vaguely to find, gives the City an argument that it never had a fair chance to investigate. Photos of the exact spot, attached or described precisely, help.

Claims against City agencies are filed with the New York City Comptroller, which accepts them online through its claims page. Claims against NYC Transit, the MTA and NYCHA are served on those agencies directly.

The 50-h hearing

After the notice is served, the City or agency can demand a hearing under General Municipal Law §50-h. It is a question-and-answer session under oath, recorded by a stenographer, about how the accident happened and how you were hurt. The City can also ask for a physical examination by its own doctor.

If the City demands a 50-h hearing, you have to attend before you can file the lawsuit. Your lawyer attends with you and prepares you beforehand, and your testimony there will be compared with everything you say later in the case.

If you missed the 90 days

A court can allow a late notice of claim under §50-e(5), but it is up to the judge. The court looks at whether the City learned the essential facts of the claim within the 90 days or shortly after, whether you have a reasonable excuse for the delay (such as being hospitalized or incapacitated), and whether the delay made it harder for the City to investigate.

The request for a late notice has to be made before the deadline to sue, one year and 90 days, runs out. After that, the court cannot extend it. If you are past 90 days, call a lawyer this week.

Common claims against the City in Queens

• Crashes with City vehicles, such as Sanitation trucks, police cars and other agency vehicles. Our car and truck accident page covers the rest of the process, including no-fault benefits.
• Accidents involving MTA buses, as a passenger, a driver or a pedestrian. See our page on pedestrian and bicycle accidents.
• Falls on subway stairs and platforms, caused by broken steps, missing handrails or wet surfaces.
• Falls on City sidewalks and streets. Most property owners in New York City are responsible for the sidewalk in front of their buildings, but the City remains responsible in front of one-, two- and three-family homes that are owner-occupied and used only as residences. For many street and sidewalk defects, the City is liable only if it received written notice of the defect beforehand or created it, and whether that notice exists is one of the first things we check. Our slip and fall page explains how these cases work.
• Accidents in NYCHA buildings, such as falls on broken stairs, in dark stairwells, or on unsalted walkways.

What to do this week

1. Write down the date, the time and the exact location, down to the nearest address or light pole.
2. Photograph the defect or the scene. Put a coin, a ruler or your shoe next to a sidewalk defect so its size is clear.
3. If a bus or City vehicle was involved, write down the bus number, route or vehicle number.
4. Get medical care, and keep every record and bill.
5. Call a lawyer well before the 90 days are up, so there is time to identify the right agency and prepare a notice that holds up.

We handle claims against the City, the MTA and NYCHA for people across Queens. If you were hurt on City property or by a City vehicle, call us and we will tell you exactly how many days you have left.