New York City pays out way more than any other major city to settle legal claims — doling out a whopping $720 million in judgements and settlements during the past fiscal year, a new report says.
The staggering amount — which works out to about $84 per Big Apple resident — is more than the combined total doled out by 19 other large US cities surveyed by Governing magazine.
It also exceeds what city taxpayers spend on both the Parks and Buildings departments, the report says.
Chicago came in a distant No. 2, paying out an average $153 million annually during fiscal years 2013-2015, roughly one-fifth of the Big Apple’s tab.
No. 3 Los Angeles got off even easier, with an average $75 million in annual payouts during fiscal years 2014-2016, Governing says.
The report blames the situation in New York on factors including the “scaffold law,” which is unique to the Empire State and holds contractors and property owners 100 percent liable when construction workers fall from ladders or scaffolding.
It also cites the profusion of lawyers — with New York home to the most per capita of any state in the country — and the political influence of the powerful state Trial Lawyers Association.
Maria Doulis of the Citizens Budget Commission, which seeks to reign in New York City’s wasteful spending, called the Governing findings “troublesome.”
“It really is an astounding figure,” she said.
“Just when you thought these costs couldn’t go higher, they go higher.”
City Comptroller Scott Stringer said the city didn’t “have to accept rising settlements as the cost of doing business,” adding that his ClaimStat program was giving officials “the tools and data they need to improve operations and hopefully reduce the incidents that lead to costly payouts.”
City Hall spokesman Raul Contreras disputed the Governing figure, saying the city only paid out $656 million in fiscal 2016, and also pointed to some huge settlement struck recently, including $41 million to the wrongly convicted “Central Park Five.”