Suit Against City for Attempting to Resuscitate Plaintiff with an Inoperable Defibrillator Properly Dismissed—No Special Duty Owed to Plaintiff
The Fourth Department determined causes of action against the city stemming from an inoperable defibrillator which delayed the resuscitation of plaintiff (Angona) were properly dismissed. Angona had suffered a heart attack and fire department personnel responded. The rendering of resuscitative care and treatment involved a governmental function and the city owed no special duty to the plaintiff:
All of [the] claims of negligence arise from the City’s exercise of governmental functions … . Thus, “[t]o sustain liability against [the City], the duty breached must be more than that owed the public generally” … . The City met its burden of establishing the absence of a special duty owed to Angona in these circumstances …, and plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact. We reject plaintiff’s contention that the City owed a special duty to Angona by virtue of his status as an off-duty firefighter. Angona v City of Syracuse, 2014 NY Slip Op 04322, 4th Dept 6-13-14