NY Bus Accident Statute of Limitations

Key Takeaways

• An ordinary NYCTA personal-injury claim generally requires notice within 90 days after the accident.
• Serving a Notice of Claim is not the same as commencing the lawsuit.
• PAL §1212(2) states a one-year-and-90-day limitation for ordinary NYCTA tort claims.
• A hearing demand needs its own calendar entry; it does not restart the lawsuit clock.
• Municipal 50-h hearings and transit statutory examinations are not interchangeable.
• Identify the defendant before relying on a deadline or choosing where to serve papers.

Last reviewed: September 2026.

For an ordinary NYCTA bus injury, begin with the traditional Notice of Claim process: 90 days after the date of the accident is the usual notice deadline. A separate lawsuit deadline follows from the governing statute.

Do not assume that serving the notice gives you three more years. And do not wait for an adjuster, a hearing date or a records request to resolve before getting the filing calendar checked.

This page explains the procedural sequence. Our MTA bus accident guide covers liability evidence and sourced safety data; the bus accident service page explains representation.

First identify the owner, operator and claim

The New York City Transit Authority, Metropolitan Transportation Authority and MTA Bus Company are not interchangeable. A logo, route name or informal reference to “the MTA” does not establish the proper defendant.

Keep the route and fleet numbers, accident report, photographs and any correspondence naming the operator. A claim involving a county, school district, private carrier or another driver may follow a different statutory path.

For private negligence claims, CPLR §214(5) generally provides three years. Public-entity notice and limitation provisions can be much shorter. Do not apply the private-carrier period to every bus in the same collision.

PAL §1276(6) exempts MTA subsidiaries from that section’s formal Notice of Claim requirement, but preserves other provisions. “No formal notice required” is not the same as “no pre-suit demand required.”

In Wyatt v City of New York (2015), the court applied the separate presentment requirement to MTA Bus Company. Sending papers to one entity is not a safe substitute for determining who must receive them.

Serve the Notice of Claim within 90 days where required

PAL §1212(2) requires notice for ordinary NYCTA tort claims in accordance with GML §50-e. For a typical accident injury, notice must generally be served within 90 days after the accident.

The notice must describe the claim, not merely say that someone was hurt. Section 50-e calls for:

• The claimant’s name and address, and the attorney’s if represented.
• The nature of the claim.
• The time, place and manner in which it arose.
• The injuries or damage claimed, so far as practicable.

The notice must also meet verification and service requirements. Counsel should identify the proper recipient and retain proof of service rather than treating document preparation as completion.

A report to the bus driver, an insurance-benefit application, a medical bill or a request for video does not by itself replace the required Notice of Claim.

Record the accident date and the actual service date separately. They answer different legal questions and should not become one generic “claim opened” date in the file.

Understand which hearing has been demanded

Municipal 50-h hearing

GML §50-h permits a covered municipality to demand sworn questioning about the occurrence and claimed injuries. A properly demanded examination generally must be addressed before suit.

Section 50-h(5) contains exceptions, including rules for an examination not conducted within 90 days of the demand. Claimant-requested adjournments or failure to appear can affect that analysis.

The demand deadline and the examination deadline are different clocks. Have counsel check the demand, its service, any adjournment and the governing subsection; do not calculate them from the accident date alone.

Transit-authority statutory examination

PAL §1212(5) and §1276(4) authorize transit examinations. They are often called “50-h hearings” in practice, but their timing cannot be decided by that shorthand.

In Lekakh (Second Department, July 30, 2025), the NYCTA examination was treated as a condition precedent to suit. The court nevertheless ordered an examination in the pending action rather than dismissal on those facts.

First Department decisions follow a different approach, discussed in Williams v MTA Bus Co.. Counsel must apply the authority governing the particular case, not assume a universal before-or-after rule.

Deposition after the lawsuit

A litigation deposition is a separate discovery event after commencement. It does not replace a required statutory examination. Bring every hearing demand and adjournment letter to counsel, even if a lawsuit has already started.

Commence the lawsuit on its own calendar

PAL §1212(2) states a one-year-and-90-day period from the event for ordinary NYCTA tort claims. PAL §1276(2) uses one year and 90 days from accrual for ordinary tort claims governed by that provision.

These provisions do not give you one year and 90 days starting when the notice is served. Nor does a delayed hearing automatically provide more time to sue.

The statutes also contain 30-day presentment requirements. Those are not a blanket instruction to wait another 30 days after every hearing.

Tolls, waiting periods, different causes of action and the proper defendant can change the calculation. Have an attorney set the actual deadline; do not add or subtract days from this outline yourself.

What if notice was late, or the injured person is a child?

GML §50-e(5) allows an application for permission to serve late notice in qualifying circumstances. Missing 90 days requires prompt legal review, not an assumption that every remedy has disappeared.

The court considers factors including timely actual knowledge of the essential facts, prejudice and the circumstances of the delay. Minority or incapacity may matter, but they are not the only considerations.

A child’s age does not mean the notice requirement can be ignored. Wrongful-death claims have separate rules, including provisions addressing the personal representative; this accident-injury calendar is not their deadline calculation.

Bring these records to the first consultation

Organize what you have without delaying the call to collect everything:

1. Accident date, time, exact location and bus identification.
2. Police or operator incident reports and witness details.
3. Copies of any notice or claim form, with proof of service.
4. Demand letters, hearing notices and adjournment correspondence.
5. Medical records, work restrictions and insurance correspondence.
6. Photographs, video and the location of any nearby cameras.

Ask about preservation requests promptly. This guide does not assume every operator retains footage for 30 days, or that an attorney can obtain every recording within 24 hours.

Our car accident lawyer page covers related collision issues, while the legal encyclopedia explains insurance and litigation terms.

Get a claim-specific deadline review

Call the Law Office of Jason Tenenbaum, P.C. at (516) 750-0595 or request a consultation. Bring any papers already served or received so the review starts with the actual record.

This is general information, not individual legal advice or a deadline calculation. No settlement amount, hearing outcome or extension is guaranteed.