When a personal injury lawsuit is being pursued against a municipality such as the City of Buffalo, the injured party is required to serve a document entitled a Notice of Claim upon the municipality before the lawsuit may be initiated. A Notice of Claim informs the municipality of the general circumstances surrounding the injury and that compensation for damages is being requested. Under most circumstances, it must be filed within 90 days of the injury.
Under New York State General Municipal Law § 50-e, a Notice of Claim is required to include the following information: (1) the name and post-office address of each claimant, and of his or her attorney, if any; (2) the nature of the claim; (3) the time when, the place where and the manner in which the claim arose; and (4) the items of damage or injuries claimed to have been sustained so far as then practicable.
Once the Notice of Claim is served, the municipality has thirty days in which to either make payment on the claim or reject it. Only if the municipality has declined to pay or has not responded within the thirty days may the injured person commence a personal injury lawsuit.
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