Seriousness of Injuries Warranted Allowing Service of Late Notice of Claim

The Second Department determined that the seriousness of plaintiff’s injuries justify granting leave to serve a late notice of claim:

In this case, the extremely serious and incapacitating injuries that the claimant suffered in the underlying car accident reasonably excused the minimal delay in seeking leave to serve a late notice of claim against the County of Nassau (see General Municipal Law § 50-e[5]…). The record further demonstrates that the County acquired actual knowledge of the facts underlying the claim within the 90-day statutory period or within a reasonable time thereafter …. Finally, under the circumstances of this case, the County was not prejudiced by the delay in serving the notice of claim … . Matter of Lopez v County of Nassau, 2014 NY Slip Op 05879, 2nd Dept 8-20-14