Case Name: In the Matter of Maxine Todd, Appellant, v. New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation Office of Legal Affairs, Claims Division, Respondent
Court: New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 2015-06-04
Citations: 129 A.D.3d 433
Docket Number: 
Parties: In the Matter of Maxine Todd, Appellant, v New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation Office of Legal Affairs, Claims Division, Respondent.
Judges: Concur — Gonzalez, P.J., Mazzarelli, Acosta, Clark and Kapnick, JJ.
Reporter: Appellate Division Reports
Volume: 129
Pages: 433–433

Head Matter:
In the Matter of Maxine Todd, Appellant, v New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation Office of Legal Affairs, Claims Division, Respondent.
[11 NYS3d 124]

Opinion:
Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Cynthia S. Kern, J.), entered August 20, 2014, which denied the petition for leave to file a late notice of claim, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
Supreme Court considered the relevant statutory factors and exercised its discretion in a provident manner in denying the petition (see generally Williams v Nassau County Med. Ctr., 6 NY3d 531, 535 [2006]; General Municipal Law § 50-e [5]). The record shows that petitioner failed to provide a reasonable excuse for her failure to file a timely notice of claim, as ignorance of the law is not a valid excuse (see Rodriguez v New York City Health & Hosps. Corp. [Jacobi Med. Ctr.], 78 AD3d 538 [1st Dept 2010], lv denied 17 NY3d 718 [2011]). Petitioner also failed to show that respondent acquired actual knowledge that a wrong was committed in that the hospital records do not on their face indicate that the hospital deviated from good and accepted medical practice (see Basualdo v Guzman, 110 AD3d 610 [1st Dept 2013]). Furthermore, the court properly found that the delay between the events at issue and the filing of the petition were likely to have prejudiced respondent in its investigation (see Brown v New York City Health & Hosps. Corp. [N. Cent. Bronx Hosp.], 116 AD3d 514 [1st Dept 2014], lv denied 24 NY3d 908 [2014]).
Concur — Gonzalez, P.J., Mazzarelli, Acosta, Clark and Kapnick, JJ.