In the early morning of October 5, 2004, William Heffelfinger suffered serious knee damage after falling while performing his duties as a shuttle bus driver at Albany International Airport.
Despite undergoing arthroscopic surgery in January 2005 to repair a torn medial meniscus of his left knee, it wasn't until November 2005 that Heffelfinger made an application for permission to file a late Notice of Claim.
In the Matter of Heffelfinger v. Albany Intl. Airport , the Albany County Supreme Court granted the request and directed the airport to accept service of Heffelfinger's late notice.
According to General Municipal Law § 50-e (5), whether to allow a party to file a late notice of claim is a discretionary determination, which is to be premised upon such factors as whether:
- respondent acquired actual knowledge of the essential facts making up the claim within 90 days or a reasonable time thereafter;
- petitioner offers a reasonable excuse for the delay in filing the application; and
- granting the application would substantially prejudice the respondent.
On appeal, the Appellate Division, Third Department, believed that, even in the absence of substantial prejudice, it is imprudent to grant the request unless a litigant can show that the respondent acquired knowledge of the claim within a reasonable time.
According to the AD3, Heffelfinger was unable to establish that the airport timely acquired actual knowledge of the exact location of the accident and that "poor lighting" was one its causes.
While incident reports prepared immediately after the mishap noted that Heffelfinger tripped over a passenger's bag, they omitted where that accident had occurred and neglected to mention that inadequate lighting was the cause of the injury sustained. Moreover, Heffelfinger provided no evidence that copies of those reports were ever furnished to the airport.
Finally, while Heffelfinger claimed that actual notice had been provided by his supervisor -- who had called airport -- the record failed to demonstrate what, if any, information had been conveyed.
The AD3 was also unmoved by Heffelfinger's claim that he did not know the severity of his injuries given that they had been serious enough to require surgery.
The case seems to have been grounded from the start.
To download a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use the following link: Matter of Heffelfinger v. Albany Intl. Airport