The common-law emergency doctrine “recognizes when an actor is faced with a sudden and unexpected circumstance which leaves little or no time for…deliberation, or causes the actor to be reasonably so disturbed that the actor must make a speedy decision without weighing alternative course of conduct, the actor may not be negligent if the actions taken are reasonable…provided the actor has not created the emergency context.”

In Sackeyfio v. New York City Transit Authority, plaintiff, sustained injuries on a bus when the bus driver abruptly stopped short.  Plaintiff sued the City of New York.

The City moved for summary judgment maintaining it was not negligent as matter of law due to the emergency doctrine.  In support of the City’s motion, it relied upon testimony of the bus driver who testified he stopped the bus to avoid colliding with a vehicle that ran a red light at a New York City intersection.  In opposing this motion, plaintiff submitted evidence the bus driver stopped 1/3 to ½ a block away from the intersection.

In denying the City’s motion, the court found a triable issue of fact as to whether the City was faced with an emergency situation since it was unclear as to how far away the bus driver was from the intersection/emergency.

This case is an example of the Court’s hesitancy to dismiss an injured passenger’s case when there is a doubt as to whether there was a real emergency.

Thanks to Caroline Freilich for her contribution to this post.