Accident Attributed to a Municipality

Your accident may be attributed to negligence on the part of a state, city or local government. Some come common examples are accidents resulting from streets caving in, broken, uneven and/or cracked sidewalks, missing manhole covers, accidents which occur in public schools, malpractice committed by municipal/city hospitals and physicians and car accidents due to improper maintenance of traffic signs or signals. Less obvious examples are accidents involving services run by a municipal body like the MTA (Metro Transit Authority or New York City Housing Authority). In such cases Spar & Bernstein will determine which municipalities are responsible and immediately file your claim.

Note: It should be noted that laws changed recently such that adjacent property owners to a defective sidewalk could be responsible for the defective condition.

A statute of limitations is a set period of time in which a plaintiff may file a claim against a defendant. If a claim is not filed within the set time period, a plaintiff will be forever barred from pursuing his or her claim and will never get the chance to recover money damages for his or her injuries. This is particularly important when the defendant is a body of government because the time periods set by statutes of limitations involving the government are significantly shorter than the time periods involving non-government defendants. Also, formal Notices of Claim must be filed with the government agency within 90 days of the date of the injury.

Spar & Bernstein understands it is difficult for someone injured to handle all the necessary details of a claim while coping with the pain of from the injuries. We will attend to the details of your lawsuit, like speaking to insurance companies, doctors, hospitals, and whomever else on your behalf to help ease your burden. Our firm can also help you with your medical bills by finding the best possible medical care for you even if you don't have insurance coverage (typically, on a lien) and can even arrange for your medical appointments.

Please call or come into the Law Offices of Spar & Bernstein to get help. The Consultation is free. You can't lose anything by contacting us. But you do have a lot to lose, if you don't.