Notice of Claim Against New York City Lawyer
Before you can sue New York City, one of its agencies, or a public authority like the MTA, you must first file a document called a Notice of Claim. This is not optional, and it is not a formality. Miss the deadline or file with incomplete information, and you may permanently lose your right to recover compensation, no matter how seriously you were injured or how clearly the City was at fault. Filing a notice of claim against New York City correctly, on time, and with the right details is the foundation of your entire case.
New York General Municipal Law imposes strict requirements on anyone who intends to bring a personal injury lawsuit against a municipal entity. The deadline is 90 days from the date of the accident or injury. That window covers claims against the City of New York, the New York City Transit Authority, the New York City Housing Authority, the New York City Department of Education, and a range of other public bodies. Ninety days sounds like enough time. It almost never feels that way when you are still recovering from a serious injury, dealing with medical appointments, and trying to understand what your legal options even are.
The rules governing municipal claims in New York are technical, and the consequences of getting them wrong fall entirely on the injured person. A notice filed with the wrong respondent, the wrong address for the accident, or a vague description of the injuries can be challenged by the City and used to undermine your case later. This page explains what the notice process actually involves, what can go wrong, and why getting a lawyer involved early is the difference between a viable claim and a closed door.
What a Notice of Claim Filing Actually Requires
The notice itself must include specific information spelled out by statute. The name and address of the claimant, the nature of the claim, a description of the injury or damage, the time and place where it occurred, and the circumstances that caused it. Courts have interpreted these requirements strictly. A vague address like “somewhere on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn” is not sufficient. A description that says “back injury” without explaining how it connects to the incident may invite challenge.
The City’s Comptroller’s Office is typically where notices are filed for claims against the City of New York itself. Claims against the MTA or New York City Transit go to a different entity entirely. Claims against the Housing Authority go somewhere else. Filing with the wrong body does not pause the clock. It wastes the 90 days you had.
After you file, the City has the right to demand a 50-h hearing, sometimes called a statutory hearing or Comptroller’s hearing. This is an examination under oath where a City attorney asks you questions about your accident, your injuries, and your background. You are required to attend. What you say at that hearing can and will be used in litigation. Preparing for that examination is not something to do alone.
Why Cohan Law Firm Handles These Claims Differently
Cohan Law Firm has recovered over $100 million for injury victims across New York City, and municipal claims are among the most procedurally demanding cases in that portfolio. The firm’s attorneys come from large-firm backgrounds and are supported by experienced staff and medical professionals who help document the full scope of injuries from the outset, which matters enormously when the notice must describe those injuries with enough specificity to hold up in litigation.
Several Cohan attorneys are members of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, a designation reserved for lawyers who have secured verdicts or settlements of $1 million or more. That track record reflects experience with exactly the kind of institutional defendants, the City, the MTA, the Housing Authority, that fight municipal claims hard and look for procedural grounds to defeat them. Clients consistently note in reviews that the firm kept them informed throughout the process, explained what was happening, and treated them with respect rather than as a file number. That matters in municipal cases because the process is long and the City does not settle quickly.
The firm also uses AI-powered legal technology to analyze evidence and identify patterns that can strengthen a claim before a notice is even drafted. When you are building a case against a City agency that has its own legal department and unlimited resources to fight you, the preparation you do in the first 90 days shapes everything that follows. Cohan’s notice of claim attorneys serving New York City take that preparation seriously from day one. The firm handles everything digitally, so clients dealing with serious injuries do not have to come to an office to get started.
Municipal Accidents That Commonly Require a Notice of Claim in NYC
- Sidewalk Trip and Fall: When a defective, uneven, or raised sidewalk causes a fall in New York City, liability may rest with the City depending on whether the abutting property owner or a City agency is responsible for maintenance. The notice must identify the correct party and the precise location of the defect.
- MTA and New York City Transit Accidents: Subway platform accidents, train door injuries, bus accidents involving MTA vehicles, and slip and falls inside transit facilities all require a notice filed with the appropriate transit authority, not the City’s Comptroller, within 90 days.
- Pothole and Road Defect Claims: The City must have had prior written notice of a road defect before liability can attach in most pothole cases. A notice of claim attorney in New York can investigate whether such prior notice existed and build the claim accordingly.
- NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA) Injuries: Falls in NYCHA stairwells, defective conditions in public housing, or negligent security incidents at NYCHA properties require a notice filed against the Housing Authority specifically, which operates separately from the City.
- Department of Education Injuries: Children injured in public schools, on school property, or during school-supervised activities may have claims against the NYC Department of Education. These cases have their own notice requirements and the 90-day clock applies.
- Negligent City Vehicle Operation: Accidents caused by City-owned vehicles, including sanitation trucks, ambulances, police vehicles, and parks department equipment, require a notice of claim before any lawsuit can proceed against the City.
- Construction Defects on City Property: Accidents caused by defective conditions on City-owned property, including parks, public plazas, and government buildings, may give rise to municipal liability when the City had notice of the condition and failed to correct it.
What to Do After an Accident Involving a City Agency or Public Property
The 90-day deadline runs from the date of the accident, not the date you hired a lawyer or figured out who was responsible. That means the time to act is immediately, while you are still recovering. Document everything you can at the scene if you are physically able: photographs of the defect, the location, any visible hazard markings or absence of them. Get witness names and contact information before they leave. If you were injured on a subway platform or inside a subway car, note the train number, the station, and the time as precisely as possible.
Seek medical treatment and continue attending all follow-up appointments. The medical records generated in the weeks after your injury will be scrutinized by City attorneys looking for gaps in treatment or inconsistencies between your claimed injuries and what the records show. Every appointment you skip becomes a potential argument that you were not seriously hurt.
For claims against New York City itself, notices are filed with the Office of the Comptroller, located at 1 Centre Street in Manhattan. For MTA and New York City Transit claims, notices go to the New York City Transit Authority at 130 Livingston Street in Brooklyn. NYCHA notices are submitted to the Authority’s offices at 90 Church Street in Manhattan. Filing with the wrong entity does not stop the 90-day clock, and a late notice can only be excused by court order under limited circumstances, including situations where the claimant was an infant or was physically or mentally incapacitated during the claim period.
After the notice is filed, you will likely receive a notice scheduling a 50-h hearing before the City’s legal team. This hearing typically takes place at the Comptroller’s Office or the Law Department of the City of New York at 100 Church Street. You must appear and answer questions under oath. Your attorney should prepare you thoroughly for this examination, because the City will use your testimony to evaluate the claim and look for inconsistencies they can exploit later in litigation. Once the notice and hearing process is complete, the actual lawsuit must be filed in the appropriate New York Supreme Court, typically the court for the borough where the accident occurred.
When the 90-Day Deadline Has Already Passed
Missing the notice of claim deadline does not automatically end your claim, but it makes things significantly harder. Under New York law, a court can grant permission to file a late notice in certain circumstances. The court considers whether the municipal entity received actual notice of the claim from another source, whether the delay was excusable, and whether the City was prejudiced by the late filing. Courts look at all of these factors together, and no single one is automatically disqualifying or automatically sufficient.
Infants, meaning individuals under 18 at the time of the injury, have until 90 days after their 18th birthday to file a notice. That extension can be significant in cases where a child was injured in a school accident or on public property and the family did not immediately understand the notice requirement. Mental or physical incapacity can also toll the deadline under certain conditions, but proving incapacity to a court’s satisfaction requires specific evidence and a formal application.
The better approach is always to get an attorney involved before the 90 days expire. A late notice application is a fight you might not win. A timely notice filed correctly is a foundation you can build on. If you are uncertain whether your deadline has passed or still have time remaining, contact a notice of claim attorney serving New York City as soon as possible. Do not assume the clock has run without getting a legal opinion first.
Questions About Suing New York City
What is the deadline for filing a notice of claim against New York City?
The deadline is 90 days from the date of the accident or injury. This applies to claims against the City of New York, the MTA, the New York City Transit Authority, the NYC Housing Authority, and most other New York City public entities. Missing this deadline can bar your entire lawsuit.
Do I need a lawyer to file a notice of claim?
You are not legally required to have an attorney, but the notice must contain specific factual information, and deficiencies in the notice can be used against you later. A lawyer can ensure the notice is filed with the correct entity, contains an accurate description of the location and circumstances, and properly identifies your injuries.
What happens after I file the notice?
The City typically has the right to demand a 50-h hearing, which is a sworn examination of the claimant conducted by a City attorney. After that hearing, the City has 30 days to make a settlement offer before you are permitted to file a lawsuit. Many cases are not resolved at this stage, and litigation follows.
Can I sue the City of New York even if I was partially at fault?
New York follows a pure comparative fault rule, which means your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault but not eliminated entirely. If you were 25 percent at fault for a fall on a defective City sidewalk, you can still recover 75 percent of your damages. The City’s legal team will work hard to shift as much fault to you as possible, which is one reason case preparation matters.
What damages can I recover in a claim against NYC?
The same categories of damages available in any personal injury case apply: medical bills, future medical care, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and pain and suffering. There is no cap on compensatory damages in New York municipal cases, though the City may argue that certain claimed damages are excessive or unsupported by the medical evidence.
Does filing a notice of claim mean I am suing the City?
No. The notice of claim is a precondition to filing a lawsuit, not a lawsuit itself. It puts the City on notice of your potential claim and triggers its obligation to investigate. Many cases settle without litigation. Filing the notice preserves your options; it does not commit you to a courtroom battle.
What if the accident involved both a City vehicle and a private driver?
You may have claims against both the City and the private driver. The notice of claim process applies only to the municipal defendant. Your claim against the private driver proceeds through the normal personal injury lawsuit process. A lawyer can coordinate both claims to avoid inconsistencies in your accounts of the accident.
What if the injured person is a child?
Minors have extended time to file. The 90-day clock does not begin until the child turns 18, so the notice can be filed at any point before 90 days after the child’s 18th birthday. However, filing early is almost always preferable because evidence, witnesses, and physical conditions at the scene are easier to document close in time to the accident.
Can I file a notice of claim if I was hurt on a subway platform but did not ride the train?
Yes. MTA and Transit Authority liability can attach to injuries on subway platforms, in station concourses, on staircases connecting the street to the platform, and in other areas within the Transit Authority’s control. You do not need to have boarded a train or purchased a fare for the notice requirements to apply.
How long does a lawsuit against New York City actually take?
Municipal litigation in New York is typically slower than standard personal injury cases. Between the notice period, the 50-h hearing, mandatory pre-litigation settlement review, and then actual litigation in Supreme Court, cases routinely take several years from the date of injury to resolution. The borough where your case is venued, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, or Staten Island, can also affect the pace, as court calendars vary significantly across the five boroughs.
What if I filed the notice but missed something in the description of my injuries?
The City may attempt to argue that an injury not described in the notice cannot be claimed in the lawsuit. Courts have allowed amendments to notices in some circumstances, particularly where the City had actual knowledge of the injury and was not prejudiced by the omission. This is a fact-specific argument that your attorney would need to make, and outcomes vary. The best protection is a thorough, carefully drafted notice from the start.
Municipal Claim Representation Across New York City’s Five Boroughs
Cohan Law Firm represents clients with notice of claim and municipal liability cases throughout New York City. In Manhattan, the firm handles injuries occurring on City-maintained sidewalks, in public transit facilities, and in incidents involving City vehicles across neighborhoods from Washington Heights and Harlem through Midtown, the Financial District, and the Lower East Side. In Brooklyn, the firm represents clients from Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights, Brownsville, Flatbush, Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, and the waterfront communities along the borough’s western edge, where NYCHA properties, subway stations, and heavily trafficked roadways generate a significant share of municipal injury claims.
In the Bronx, the firm serves clients in Mott Haven, Hunts Point, Fordham, Riverdale, Co-op City, and Pelham Parkway, representing injury victims in cases involving the MTA, City-maintained streets, and Housing Authority properties throughout the borough. In Queens, the practice extends to Flushing, Jamaica, Astoria, Long Island City, Jackson Heights, Woodside, Richmond Hill, and Far Rockaway, including incidents on MTA bus routes and subway lines that serve the borough’s dense residential and commercial corridors. On Staten Island, the firm handles claims arising in St. George, Stapleton, New Dorp, and communities across the North and South shores. The firm also extends representation to clients in Long Island communities who were injured while in New York City or who have claims against City or transit authority operations.
Contact a Notice of Claim Attorney Serving New York City
The 90-day window to file a notice of claim against New York City closes whether or not you have figured out all the details of your case. If you were injured on City property, by a City vehicle, in a subway station, or anywhere the City or a public authority may be responsible, contact a notice of claim attorney at Cohan Law Firm before that deadline passes. The firm handles the process digitally so you can move forward without leaving home while you recover.
Cohan Law Firm has recovered over $100 million for injury victims across New York City, and the firm brings the same preparation and commitment to municipal claims that it does to every personal injury case. If you need a New York City municipal claim attorney who will track the deadlines, prepare the filings, and build a case that can actually withstand the City’s scrutiny, call Cohan Law Firm for a free, confidential consultation. Hablamos Espanol.