June 21, 2013

Law suits against the City

One of the more difficult cases to prove is a negligence claim against the government.  The first problem is that governments have immunity from many claims. This means that you cannot bring a claim against a government for many claims you could make against a private individual.  This applies to cases where the government's decision to act or not to act is found to be discretionary.  Under those circumstances, the Courts will find for the government.  A recent case highlighted this rule of law.  In 2005, a woman was riding her bicycle. When she approached the entrance to the transverse road at West 65th Street in Central Park, a Department of Transportation (DOT) employee was placing traffic cones to block cars from entry to allow repairs. The employee said she could continue. On the road, the woman hit a pothole and suffered severe injuries to her face, which have required over 20 surgeries.

The bicycle rider sued the city, and a jury found that it was 60 percent liable for her accident because the DOT employee was negligent in allowing her to continue riding on the road. However, the Manhattan Supreme Court set aside the verdict, finding that the employee was engaged in the "discretionary" government function of traffic control, rather than the "proprietary" function of street repair.

The Appellate Division agreed with the Manhattan Supreme Court. It stated that the DOT employee made a discretionary decision to allow the plaintiff to proceed because his crew had not completed its preparations for roadwork. The court said that this decision was not made while engaged under the “proprietary” function of street repair, meaning that the City was not under a duty to maintain the roadway at the time. A government is immune from liability when acting in a discretionary function. Therefore, the City was not liable here.

At Foley Griffin, LLP, our attorneys represent clients in a multitude of areas of law, including slip and fall accidents and premise accidents. If you require assistance with a legal issue, please contact our office located in 666 Old Country Road, Suite 305, Garden City, NY11530, or call us toll free at 1-800-991-2773.