You are here: / / THE REPORT OF THE INCIDENT IN WHICH PETITIONER WAS INJURED DID NOT PROVIDE...
,

THE REPORT OF THE INCIDENT IN WHICH PETITIONER WAS INJURED DID NOT PROVIDE THE CITY DEFENDANTS WITH NOTICE OF A CONNECTION BETWEEN THE INJURIES AND ANY NEGLIGENCE ON THE PART OF THE DEFENDANTS; THEREFORE THE CITY DEFENDANTS DID NOT HAVE NOTICE OF THE CLAIM WITHIN 90 DAYS; IN ADDITION, IGNORANCE OF THE LAW IS NOT A VALID EXCUSE FOR FAILURE TO TIMELY FILE A NOTICE OF CLAIM; THE PETITION FOR LEAVE TO FILE AND SERVE LATE NOTICES OF CLAIM SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT). ​

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the petition for leave to file and serve late notices of claim in this construction accident case should not have been granted. Although there was a report about the incident, nothing in the report made a connection between petitioner’s injuries and negligence on the part of the city defendants.  Another incident report made by one municipal entity (MTA Capital Construction) cannot be imputed to other municipal entities:

The evidence submitted in support of the petition failed to establish that the City, NYC Department of Design and Construction, NYC Department of Transportation, and New York City Transit Authority (hereinafter collectively the City appellants) or the MTA [Metropolitan Transportation Authority] acquired actual knowledge of the essential facts constituting the claim within 90 days after the claim arose or a reasonable time thereafter. “‘A report which describes the circumstances of the accident without making a connection between the petitioner’s injuries and negligent conduct on the part of the public corporation will not be sufficient to constitute actual notice of the essential facts constituting the claim'” …  The incident report upon which the petitioner relied did not connect his injuries to negligent conduct on the part of the City appellants or the MTA, and the incident report, prepared by MTA Capital Construction, cannot be imputed to other municipal entities … . Moreover, the petitioner testified at a hearing pursuant to General Municipal Law § 50-h that only his employer’s personnel were present at the construction site when the accident occurred.

The petitioner also failed to provide a reasonable excuse for failing to timely serve the notices of claim. The petitioner’s ignorance of the law does not constitute a reasonable excuse … . Furthermore, the petitioner did not adduce sufficient evidence to support his claim that he was unable to timely serve the notices of claim because he was seeking medical treatment and recovering from medical procedures, as he provided evidence only that he was unable to work for intermittent periods during the eight-month interval between the date of the accident and the service of the notices of claim … . Matter of Almeida v City of New York, 2024 NY Slip Op 02699, Second Dept 5-15-24

Practice Point: In order for an incident report to provide notice of a potential lawsuit against a municipality such that a late notice of claim will be excused, the report must connect the injuries to negligence on the part of the municipal defendants (not the case here).

Practice Point: In the context of a petition for leave to file a late notice of a claim against a municipality, an incident report created by one municipal entity will not be deemed to have provided notice of the incident to other municipal entities.

 

You might also like
Height Differential Between Concrete Slabs in Sidewalk “Trivial” As a Matter of Law
THE PEOPLE USED DEFENDANT’S PRETRIAL SILENCE AGAINST HIM IN THEIR DIRECT CASE; ALTHOUGH THE ERROR WAS NOT PRESERVED, THE APPEAL WAS CONSIDERED IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE; NEW TRIAL ORDERED (SECOND DEPT).
DRIVER STRUCK AS HE WAS ABOUT TO ENTER HIS PARKED CAR WAS NOT AN OCCUPANT OF THE CAR WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE INSURANCE POLICY.
FORMER SISTERS-IN-LAW WHO LIVED ONE MILE APART AND SAW EACH OTHER FREQUENTLY FOR 30 YEARS HAD AN “INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP” WHICH SUPPORTED THE FAMILY OFFENSE PROCEEDING (SECOND DEPT).
CONSTRUCTION MANAGER DID NOT EXERCISE SUFFICIENT CONTROL TO BE LIABLE UNDER LABOR LAW 240(1) (SECOND DEPT).
FAMILY COURT SHOULD HAVE GRANTED A PETITION SEEKING AN ORDER FOR FINDINGS REQUIRED FOR SPECIAL IMMIGRANT RESIDENT STATUS.
Provision Requiring Nonincumbents to Reside in District Does Not Violate Equal Protection
FAMILY COURT SHOULD HAVE REOPENED THE NEGLECT HEARING WHEN MOTHER ARRIVED AT COURT SHORTLY AFTER SUMMATIONS (SECOND DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

LABOR LAW 240(1) DOES NOT APPLY TO SLIPPING ON A STAIRCASE STEP, THE PERMANENT... EVIDENCE FATHER POSSESSED COCAINE WITH INTENT TO SELL WAS NOT SUFFICIENT TO...