Fahey v. County of Nassau

111 A.D.2d 214, 489 N.Y.S.2d 249, 1985 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 51357
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedMay 13, 1985
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 111 A.D.2d 214 (Fahey v. County of Nassau) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fahey v. County of Nassau, 111 A.D.2d 214, 489 N.Y.S.2d 249, 1985 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 51357 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

In a proceeding pursuant to General Municipal Law § 50-e (5) for leave to serve a late notice of claim and for an order deeming the service of a summons and complaint timely, the appeals are from (1) an order of the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Meade, J.), dated September 27, 1983, which denied the application, and (2) an order of the same court dated February 21, 1984, which denied the motion for reargument.

Appeal from order dated February 21, 1984 dismissed, without costs or disbursements. No appeal lies from an order denying reargument (see, Alessi v County of Nassau, 100 AD2d 561; Magliano v Merckling, 99 AD2d 825; Amity Plumbing v Zito Plumbing, 110 AD2d 863).

Order dated September 27, 1983 reversed, as a matter of discretion, without costs or disbursements, and application granted.

The within matter involves an automobile accident which occurred on March 4, 1982, when the vehicle which appellant was driving on Post Road in Nassau County skidded off the roadway and collided with a tree. As a result of the collision, appellant was rendered unconscious and was immediately transported to North Shore Hospital. Among the numerous injuries sustained by appellant in the accident were a fractured rib, a ruptured spleen, a dislocated foot and ankle, multiple lacerations, and cardiac and pulmonary contusions. Due to the extensive nature of her injuries, appellant underwent several surgeries including a vein graft in her right leg, the insertion of a pin in her right tibia and the removal of her spleen. She remained at North Shore Hospital for almost five months and on July 26, 1982, she was transported to Brunswick Hospital where she was hospitalized for approximately one more month. On September 4, 1982, appellant was released from the hospital and returned home. While at home, she was confined to bed under nurses’ care. During this period, appellant was on pain medication.

[215]*215Sometime in February 1983, following the expiration of the 90-day period within which to serve a notice of claim under General Municipal Law § 50-e, appellant consulted with an attorney regarding her accident. Shortly after consulting with her attorney, however, appellant was readmitted to the hospital on February 10, 1983 for “attempted arthrodesis of left ankle”. At that time, it was also discovered that appellant had been suffering from posttraumatic complications of thrombocystemia, which is a blood disorder causing acute fatigue, severe pain, dizziness, confusion and similar conditions. She remained in the hospital for approximately one month during which time she suffered complications of a pulmonary embolism, continued pain and abnormal bleeding into her muscles caused by thrombocystemia. Appellant was discharged from the hospital on March 20, 1983 and, thereafter, although at home, she was still confined to bed on medication, under the care of a nurse, until April 23, 1983, when she experienced hemorrhaging in her mouth and joints. As a result, she was readmitted to the hospital where she remained until May 3, 1983. Thereafter appellant returned home under nurses’ care. The record indicates that appellant will be or has been readmitted to the hospital since that time for necessary surgery.

By notice of motion dated May 24, 1983, eight days short of the expiration of the one year and 90-day Statute of Limitations (General Municipal Law § 50-i [1] [c]), appellant moved for an order authorizing, inter alia, the late service of a notice of claim against respondents, the County of Nassau and the Incorporated Village of Old Westbury. She essentially alleged that respondents negligently designed and maintained the roadway in question and that by reason of the defective condition of the road and the absence of guardrails, she was caused to skid off the road. In support of her application, appellant submitted her own affidavit in which she attested that due to the seriousness of the injuries incurred in the accident as well as the posttrauma complications which developed, she was totally disabled until the present time. Because of the protracted physical and emotional disabilities, appellant stated that she was unable to consult with an attorney to investigate the cause of the accident and to take the necessary precautions to protect her claim. She did acknowledge that she spoke with an attorney in February 1983; however, she noted that due to medical complications which developed shortly thereafter requiring immediate hospitalization, she could not follow through with the matter at that time. Finally, appellant emphasized that since her discharge from the hospital on May 3, 1983, she has acted swiftly with respect to her claim.

[216]*216Appellant also submitted affidavits of two physicians who had treated her immediately following the accident and during the several months thereafter. Both physicians opined with reasonable medical certainty that due to the severity of the injuries sustained in the accident as well as the posttrauma complications which developed, appellant had been totally disabled and incapacitated from the date of the accident to the present time.

Special Term, in its discretion, denied appellant’s application, stating that, even assuming that appellant was both physically and mentally incapacitated during the period of her first hospitalization, there was an insufficient explanation offered as to why an attorney was not consulted with during the five-month period immediately following her first hospitalization. In addition, Special Term concluded that insufficient evidence was submitted to substantiate appellant’s claims of mental disability during the period in question.

Based upon an independent review of the record, we disagree with Special Term’s determination and, accordingly, reverse.

General Municipal Law § 50-e (5) provides, in pertinent part, that “[u]pon application, the court, in its discretion, may extend the time to serve a notice of claim specified in paragraph (a) of subdivision one * * * In determining whether to grant the extension, the court shall consider, in particular, whether the public corporation or its attorney or its insurance carrier acquired actual knowledge of the essential facts constituting the claim within the time specified in subdivision one or within a reasonable time thereafter. The court shall also consider all other relevant facts and circumstances, including: whether the claimant was * * * mentally or physically incapacitated * * * before the time limited for service of the notice of claim”. It is significant to note that “the presence or absence of any one factor” listed in this subdivision is not necessarily determinative (Matter of Morris v County of Suffolk, 88 AD2d 956, 957, affd 58 NY2d 767). “Rather, all relevant factors are to be considered” (Matter of Cicio v City of New York, 98 AD2d 38, 39; Matter of Beary v City of Rye, 44 NY2d 398, 411-416; Heiman v City of New York, 85 AD2d 25).

Contrary to Special Term’s determination and that of our dissenting colleagues, we conclude that the papers submitted in support of appellant’s application clearly demonstrated that her physical incapacity caused by the accident precluded her from pursuing her claim of negligence during the approximate 14-month period immediately following the accident. In that 14-month period, appellant was hospitalized for approximately 71/2 months and during the months while she was at home she was [217]*217confined to bed under nurses’ care.

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Bluebook (online)
111 A.D.2d 214, 489 N.Y.S.2d 249, 1985 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 51357, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fahey-v-county-of-nassau-nyappdiv-1985.