21.14 - 3. Emergency Doctrine

• Jurisdiction: New York

3. Emergency Doctrine

The emergency doctrine is available only when the contingency could not have been anticipated and when the actor has not created or aggravated the emergency situation by his or her own conduct.³³⁴⁵

Thus, where a bank guard shot a bystander during a holdup, the emergency doctrine was not available because the defendant bank likely would have anticipated the possibility of a holdup.³³⁴⁶

When the emergency doctrine does apply, a person in an emergency situation may not be held to the same accuracy of judgment or conduct as one who has a full opportunity to reflect, even though it may later appear the actor made the wrong decision.³³⁴⁷

--------

Notes:

^[3345] . Pelletier v. Lahm, 24 N.Y.3d 966, 994 N.Y.S.2d 565 (2014); Lifson v. City of Syracuse, 17 N.Y.3d 492, 934 N.Y.S2d 381 (2011); Bonforte v. M.K.’s Landscaping of Liberty, LLC, 15 A.D.3d 910, 15 N.Y.S.3d 850 (2d Dep’t 2015); Albert v. Machols, 129 A.D.3d 1481, 10 N.Y.S.3d 777 (4th Dep’t 2015).

^[3346] . Shaw v. Mfrs. Hanover Trust Co., 95 A.D.2d 738, 464 N.Y.S.2d 172 (1st Dep’t 1983); see Rosario v. New York City Transit Auth., 73 A.D.2d 912, 423 N.Y.S.2d 254 (2d Dep’t 1980); see also Lifson, 17 N.Y.3d 492.

^[3347] . Rivera v. New York City Transit Auth., 77 N.Y.2d 322, 567 N.Y.S.2d 629 (1991); see also Bonforte v. M.K.’s Landscaping of Liberty, LLC, 15 A.D.3d 910, 15 N.Y.S.3d 850 (2d Dep’t 2015).