If you've been injured in a slip and fall accident on the NYC subway, on a bus, in a transit station, or on transit-related property, you have substantially less time to act than in a typical personal injury case. While New York's general statute of limitations for personal injury is three years, claims against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), and similar public entities require a Notice of Claim filed within just 90 days of the accident. Miss that deadline, and your case is almost certainly over before it begins.
This is the most common reason valid transit injury cases get dismissed. People assume they have years to decide whether to pursue a claim, and by the time they realize they need legal help, the 90-day window has closed. NYC transit cases also involve procedural complexity — different rules for different transit entities, mandatory pre-suit hearings, and specific evidence requirements — that catches people off-guard if they're handling the case without counsel.
This post explains what you need to know if you've been injured in a slip and fall on NYC public transit: which government entity is responsible (it depends on where the accident happened), what the 90-day notice requirement actually requires, what evidence matters most, and why getting legal help quickly affects whether the case can be pursued at all.
Where Slip and Fall Accidents Happen on NYC Transit
Slip and fall accidents on NYC public transit happen in predictable locations. Understanding the typical settings helps explain why these cases have specific evidence requirements and why prompt action matters.
Subway Stations and Platforms
Wet stairs from rain, snow, or spilled liquids; broken or worn stair treads; missing handrails; standing water on platforms; trash and debris creating slipping hazards; uneven flooring at platform edges; oil or grease leaks from equipment. Subway stations across all five boroughs — Manhattan stations like Times Square–42nd Street and Grand Central, Brooklyn stations like Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center, Queens stations like Jamaica Center, Bronx stations like 149th Street–Grand Concourse — see thousands of falls each year. Many result from conditions the MTA or NYCTA either knew about or should have known about but failed to address.
Subway Cars
Wet floors during rain or snow conditions; spilled food, beverages, or other substances; sudden braking causing falls; defective doors that close on passengers; gap between train and platform causing falls during boarding or exiting. Subway car incidents typically involve the NYCTA, which operates the subway system.
MTA Buses and NICE Buses
Wet floors during inclement weather; passengers falling due to sudden stops or starts; falls during boarding or exiting through wheelchair-accessible doors; passengers thrown by aggressive driving. The MTA operates most NYC bus routes, while NICE Bus operates Nassau County routes — different procedural rules apply.
Transit-Adjacent Property
Falls on stairways leading to subway entrances; falls at bus stops on city sidewalks; falls in MTA-controlled parking facilities; falls during evacuations or service disruptions. Liability for these incidents may rest with the MTA, NYCTA, NYC, or private property owners depending on the specific location and circumstances.
Metro-North, Long Island Rail Road, and PATH
Suburban rail and inter-state transit involve different legal frameworks. Metro-North Railroad and LIRR are operated by the MTA but with specific procedural rules under Public Authorities Law. PATH (operated by the Port Authority of NY/NJ) has a separate 60-day notice requirement and one-year statute of limitations under different law. The legal framework depends on which entity operates the specific transit service involved.
The Critical 90-Day Notice of Claim Requirement
The single most important fact for anyone injured on NYC public transit: you have 90 days from the date of the accident to file a Notice of Claim with the responsible government entity. This deadline is established by New York General Municipal Law § 50-e for most public entities, and by Public Authorities Law § 1276 specifically for the MTA. The 90-day requirement applies to virtually every personal injury claim against the MTA, the NYCTA, New York City, or other public corporations.
The deadline is strict and unforgiving. It runs from the date of the accident — not from when you fully understand your injuries, not from when you decide to pursue a claim, not from when you finish medical treatment. Ninety calendar days, not business days. If your accident happened on March 1st, your Notice of Claim must be served by May 30th. Courts dismiss late-filed claims in the substantial majority of cases. The narrow exceptions for late filing — infancy, mental incapacity, or excusable neglect with strong justification — succeed in only a small percentage of cases.
The Notice of Claim itself is a specific legal document with specific content requirements. Under General Municipal Law § 50-e, it must include the nature of the claim, the time when, the place where, and the manner in which the claim arose, the items of damage or injuries claimed, and the name and post office address of each claimant. A poorly drafted Notice of Claim can be just as fatal as a missed deadline. Vague descriptions, incorrect location information, or missing claim elements can give the government entity grounds to challenge the sufficiency of the notice itself.
The Notice of Claim must be served on the correct entity through the correct method. For NYC and most city agencies, service is on the Comptroller's Office through specific procedural methods — in person, by registered or certified mail, or through the NYC eClaim system. For the MTA and NYCTA, service procedures are slightly different. Filing the right document with the wrong entity, or filing the right entity through an improper service method, can both invalidate the notice.
Which Entity Is Responsible? Why This Matters
Identifying the correct defendant in a transit injury case is more complicated than it appears. Different agencies operate different services, and they are legally distinct entities even though they may seem like the same organization to commuters.
The MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority)
The MTA is a public benefit corporation organized under Public Authorities Law. The MTA itself is generally a holding entity — it owns subsidiaries that operate the various services. Direct lawsuits against the MTA proper are less common than lawsuits against its operating subsidiaries. Notice of Claim deadlines and procedural requirements apply, but the specific defendant depends on the service involved.
New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA)
The NYCTA, a subsidiary of the MTA, operates the New York City subway system and the local bus system within the five boroughs. Most subway and city bus injury cases name the NYCTA as the defendant. Public Authorities Law § 1212 governs NYCTA-specific procedural requirements. The 90-day Notice of Claim and one year ninety days statute of limitations apply.
MTA Bus Company and Other Subsidiaries
Various MTA subsidiaries operate specific services — MTA Bus Company operates certain Queens routes, MTA Metro-North Railroad operates suburban commuter rail, MTA Long Island Rail Road operates LIRR service. Each subsidiary may have specific procedural requirements that differ slightly from each other. Naming the wrong subsidiary can complicate the case.
City of New York
Some transit-adjacent injuries — falls on city sidewalks at bus stops, falls on stairs to subway entrances that NYC owns rather than the MTA, falls in city-owned facilities — may involve claims against New York City itself rather than the MTA system. Different notice and filing procedures apply but the same 90-day window.
Private Contractors and Property Owners
Some transit-related injuries actually involve private contractors performing work for the MTA, or private property owners whose property is adjacent to transit facilities. These cases may have completely different procedural rules — standard 3-year statute of limitations and no Notice of Claim requirement. But the complexity is that the MTA's involvement may still create complications, and naming the wrong defendant can be fatal to the case.
Why Getting This Right Matters
Naming the wrong defendant in a Notice of Claim can result in dismissal even when the claim is otherwise valid. An attorney evaluating a transit injury case considers which entities have potential liability, files Notices of Claim against all appropriate entities within the 90-day window, and preserves the option to clarify defendants during litigation. Doing this without legal counsel risks fatal procedural errors.
The 50-h Hearing: A Pre-Suit Examination
Beyond the Notice of Claim, transit injury cases involve another unique procedural step: the 50-h hearing. Under New York General Municipal Law § 50-h, the government entity has the right to demand a pre-suit examination of the claimant under oath. This typically happens before any lawsuit is filed.
The 50-h hearing functions similarly to a deposition. The injured party (claimant) appears at a designated location and answers questions under oath about the accident, the injuries, the medical treatment, prior medical history, and other matters relevant to the claim. The government entity's attorney conducts the questioning. The claimant's attorney attends and protects the claimant's interests, but the rules differ somewhat from civil deposition practice.
Failing to appear at a 50-h hearing or refusing to answer relevant questions can result in dismissal of the claim. The hearing is not optional once demanded. Claimants without legal representation often struggle with 50-h hearings — they make damaging admissions about prior injuries, they fail to clearly describe the accident circumstances, they answer questions broader than necessary, or they appear inconsistent in ways that hurt their case at later stages.
Proper preparation for a 50-h hearing typically takes several hours. An attorney walks the claimant through the types of questions likely to be asked, reviews the relevant facts, prepares for questions about prior medical history and pre-existing conditions, and discusses how to handle difficult areas of questioning. This preparation often determines whether the case survives the early procedural stages or gets dismissed before reaching litigation.
Proving Negligence in Transit Slip and Fall Cases
Filing a Notice of Claim and attending a 50-h hearing are procedural prerequisites. Winning the underlying case requires proving negligence — that the responsible entity knew or should have known about the dangerous condition, failed to address it in a reasonable time, and that this failure caused your injuries.
Constructive vs. Actual Notice
New York law distinguishes between actual notice (the entity knew about the condition) and constructive notice (the condition existed long enough that the entity should have discovered it through reasonable inspection). For transit cases, plaintiffs must typically prove one or the other. Actual notice cases often involve prior complaints — passengers who reported the broken stair, the wet floor that wasn't cleaned up despite earlier reports, the missing handrail that had been the subject of work orders. Constructive notice cases rely on showing the condition existed long enough — visible deterioration, accumulated debris, dirty wet floors — that the entity should have addressed it.
Required Evidence
Strong transit injury cases include multiple types of evidence: incident reports filed at the time of the accident, surveillance footage from station cameras (which the MTA controls and which is often deleted within 30–60 days), prior complaints about the condition that caused the fall, maintenance and inspection records, witness statements, photographs of the conditions, and medical records documenting the injuries. The 90-day Notice of Claim window matters partly because evidence preservation requests need to be made before footage is overwritten.
Comparative Negligence Considerations
New York applies comparative negligence under CPLR § 1411. A claimant's recovery can be reduced by their percentage of fault but not eliminated. Defense attorneys for transit entities frequently argue claimants were inattentive, distracted, intoxicated, or otherwise contributed to their fall. Strong evidence of the dangerous condition, combined with documentation of the claimant's appropriate care, helps minimize comparative fault findings.
What to Do If You've Been Injured in a Transit Slip and Fall
If you've been injured in a slip and fall on the NYC subway, a bus, in a transit station, or on transit-related property, time matters substantially. Here's what to do.
Immediately After the Accident
Get medical attention. Even if injuries seem minor, get evaluated — many serious injuries (concussions, soft tissue injuries, herniated discs) become apparent over days or weeks. Report the accident to the on-site MTA or NYCTA personnel. Get the names of any MTA employees who respond. Take photographs of the conditions that caused the fall if you can. Get names and contact information from any witnesses. Note the specific location — which station, which platform level, which staircase, which entrance.
Within the First Week
Consult with an attorney. Even if you think the case may be minor, the 90-day Notice of Claim window starts immediately. An attorney can evaluate whether the case has potential merit and file the Notice of Claim if it does. Most personal injury attorneys offer free consultations and can quickly assess whether to proceed.
Within the First 30 Days
Continue medical treatment as recommended. Keep all medical records, bills, and documentation. Avoid recorded statements to MTA insurance representatives or investigators — they're gathering information for the entity's defense, and statements made without legal counsel can hurt the case. If you've retained an attorney, all communications about the case should go through them.
Within the 90-Day Window
Your attorney files the Notice of Claim with appropriate detail. This is the critical procedural step. Once filed within the deadline, the case can proceed through the 50-h hearing and toward litigation if necessary.
Why These Cases Need Experienced Counsel
Transit slip and fall cases involve procedural complexity that doesn't exist in standard premises liability cases. The combination of the 90-day Notice of Claim deadline, the multiple potential government entity defendants, the 50-h hearing requirement, and the constructive notice standard creates multiple ways for cases to fail without proper handling.
Generic personal injury counsel without specific experience in transit cases regularly encounters problems: missed deadlines, wrong defendant named, inadequately drafted Notices of Claim, poor 50-h hearing preparation, failure to preserve evidence before MTA footage is overwritten. Each of these can be fatal to an otherwise valid case.
Yazdi Law represents clients injured in slip and fall accidents on NYC public transit on a contingency fee basis under New York Judiciary Law § 474-a. You pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation on your behalf. We advance the costs of investigation, evidence preservation, expert witnesses, and litigation, recovering them from the settlement or judgment proceeds. Our practice handles transit injury cases throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island.
Contact Yazdi Law If You've Been Injured on NYC Public Transit
If you've been injured in a slip and fall on the NYC subway, a bus, in a transit station, or on transit-related property, contact Yazdi Law for a free consultation. Given the 90-day Notice of Claim deadline, time matters. We can evaluate your case, file the Notice of Claim within the deadline, and pursue compensation for your injuries on a contingency fee basis — you pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you.
Our office is located at 261 Madison Avenue, Suite 1035, in Manhattan. We represent clients injured in transit accidents throughout New York City, including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Representation is available in English and Farsi.
