The Third Department affirmed the Court of Claim’s determination that the absence of a guide rail was not the proximate cause of claimant’s injuries, and the state was entitled to qualified immunity because it had reasonably concluded after a study that a guide rail was not necessary. Claimant was injured when the ambulance in which he was riding struck a stone wall near the roadway:
Defendant’s duty to maintain roads in a reasonably safe condition includes the installation of guide rails when necessary … . With respect to highway safety and design, defendant is “accorded a qualified immunity from liability arising out of a highway planning decision” … . “Under this doctrine of qualified immunity, a governmental body may be held liable when its study of a traffic condition is plainly inadequate or there is no reasonable basis for its traffic plan” … . Schroeder v State of New York, 2016 NY Slip Op 08263, 3rd Dept 12-8-16
COURT OF CLAIMS (STATE ENTITLED TO QUALIFIED IMMUNITY WITH RESPECT TO THE ABSENCE OF A GUIDE RAIL ALONG A HIGHWAY)/IMMUNITY (STATE ENTITLED TO QUALIFIED IMMUNITY WITH RESPECT TO THE ABSENCE OF A GUIDE RAIL ALONG A HIGHWAY)/QUALIFIED IMMUNITY (STATE ENTITLED TO QUALIFIED IMMUNITY WITH RESPECT TO THE ABSENCE OF A GUIDE RAIL ALONG A HIGHWAY)/HIGHWAYS AND ROADS (STATE ENTITLED TO QUALIFIED IMMUNITY WITH RESPECT TO THE ABSENCE OF A GUIDE RAIL ALONG A HIGHWAY)/GUIDE RAILS (STATE ENTITLED TO QUALIFIED IMMUNITY WITH RESPECT TO THE ABSENCE OF A GUIDE RAIL ALONG A HIGHWAY)/GUARD RAILS (STATE ENTITLED TO QUALIFIED IMMUNITY WITH RESPECT TO THE ABSENCE OF A GUIDE RAIL ALONG A HIGHWAY)