When a personal injury lawsuit is initiated against a municipality such as the City of Buffalo, there are usually special rules that apply. In most cases, these special rules provide the municipality with additional protection from liability that is not available to private individuals or entities. The need for “prior notice” is one of these special rules.
Section 21-2 of the Buffalo City Charter provides that no civil claim may be made against the city “for damage or injuries to person or property sustained in consequence of any street, part or portion of any street including the curb thereof and any encumbrances thereon or attachments thereto, tree, bridge, viaduct, underpass, culvert, parkway or park approach, sidewalk or crosswalk, pedestrian walk or path, or traffic-control sign or signal, being defective, out of repair, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed, or in consequence of the existence or accumulation of snow or ice upon any street, bridge, viaduct, underpass, culvert, parkway or park approach, sidewalk or crosswalk, pedestrian walk or path, unless previous to the occurrence resulting in such damage or injuries written notice of such alleged condition relating to the particular place and location was actually given to the city clerk and there was a failure or neglect within a reasonable time thereafter to remedy or correct the alleged condition complained of.”
In other words, if the city clerk had not been notified of the dangerous condition prior to the injury occurring, the injured person is barred from bringing a personal injury lawsuit.
While this limits many cases against the City of Buffalo, there are exceptions to this type of regulation, the primary one being when the condition leading to the personal injury was actually created through the negligence of city workers.
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