For a fall on a sidewalk abutting a commercial or multi-family property in NYC, the injured person typically has three years to sue the private owner. When the City is the defendant, a Notice of Claim is due within 90 days and the lawsuit itself generally must start within one year and 90 days. These different clocks explain why identifying the correct responsible party early is critical in sidewalk cases. For owners, the practical meaning is that liability exposure from an unrepaired defect can surface years after the injury date, long after memories and evidence have faded.
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