Question of Fact Re: Duty Owed to Developmentally Disabled Plaintiff for Injury Incurred After Plaintiff Left Facility for a Bus Ride Home

In affirming the denial of summary judgment to the defendant, which provided services to developmentally disabled people, the Third Department determined there was a question of fact about whether defendant owed plaintiff a duty and whether the breach of that duty was the proximate cause of plaintiff’s injuries.  Plaintiff was placed on a bus to take her home from defendant’s premises, after plaintiff’s mother had instructed a respite worker that plaintiff should be driven home.  Plaintiff was struck by a car as she crossed the road after getting off the bus.  The Third Department wrote:

… [W]e agree with Supreme Court that summary judgment in defendant’s favor is precluded by  material issues of fact as to the degree  of care that  defendant  owed  to  plaintiff and  its compliance  with that duty… .  Further, given the record evidence regarding defendant’s knowledge of plaintiff’s abilities and limitations, we  find that it did not establish as a matter of law that its conduct in sending plaintiff to an unsupervised location along a highway was not the proximate cause of her injuries or that plaintiff’s actions  constituted  an  intervening  cause  ….  Warley v Grampp, et al, 515724, 3rd Dept, 6-6-13

PEDESTRIANS, TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS