Opinion
May 13, 1949.
Appeal from Court of Claims.
Present — Foster, P.J., Heffernan, Deyo, Santry and Bergan, JJ.
Claimant's incompetent was an inmate of Binghamton State Hospital. He was a member of a squad of seventeen patients who were daily employed in handling coal and ashes in a yard at the hospital under the supervision of one regularly employed attendant. To reach the yard the members of this squad had to walk through an underpass about fifty feet long, five feet wide and seven and one-half feet high. There was a gate at each end. The regular procedure was for the attendant to unlock the gate at the entrance of the underpass, allow the patients to enter, then go to the other end and open the exit gate. Meanwhile the patients would walk through and go out into the yard. On the day of the incident involved here the squad was in process of going through the underpass. The claimant's incompetent was standing near the entrance gate. The attendant was standing facing him about eight feet away. Suddenly and without warning another patient in the squad named Puglisi struck out with his hand as he was passing claimant's incompetent and hit him in the head. The assailant's finger evidently went into the eye and as a result of the blow the eye was injured so that it had to be removed. The claim is for damages resulting from the injury. The evidence showed that claimant's incompetent was emotionally unstable, excitable, boisterous, grandiose and at times annoyed other patients, including Puglisi, by his profanity and irritating language concerning his alleged wealth and prowess. He appeared to enjoy inciting quarrels with other patients. There was no evidence of any physical violence between him and any other patient. The evidence showed that Puglisi was irritable and impulsive, but there is no evidence that he had ever assaulted anyone else, except that the records indicated that in 1920 he poured a pitcher of coffee over a patient. He was not considered to be violent, vicious or quarrelsome. The evidence failed to show that the State was guilty of any negligence on which liability could be predicated. It was required only to use reasonable care to guard against dangers that could be reasonably anticipated as likely to occur. ( Excelsior Ins. Co. v. State of New York, 296 N.Y. 40; Flaherty v. State of New York, 296 N.Y. 342.) In the light of their experience with Puglisi the hospital authorities had no reason to expect he would make this sudden and unexplained assault. They had an experienced attendant in charge of the squad. There had been no altercations among members of the group during the six years he had been taking them through the underpass. The blow came so suddenly that the attendant was powerless to intervene although only eight feet away. Judgment of the Court of Claims unanimously affirmed, without costs.