Jill Williams sued the State of New York after Tony Joseph, a former Manhattan Psychiatric Center patient, threw a glass bottle at her, fracturing her tibia.
Two years earlier, Joseph had "stolen away" from the Center's care. And although it supposedly searched for the guy, because it didn't consider him to be dangerous, the Center eventually abandoned those efforts.
While Williams argued that the State's negligence caused her injury, the Court of Claims disagreed and threw out her case. But, as we previously reported, the Appellate Division, First Department, ended up siding with Williams and reversed.
When the dispute reached our state's highest court, the New York State Court of Appeals thought the "causal connection" between the Center's alleged negligence and Joseph's assault were "too attenuated and speculative" for there to be any liability. (In other words, because too much time had passed since Joseph's escape, the Center wasn't legally responsible for what later occurred.)
Time doesn't cure all.
To view a copy of the Court of Appeals' decision, please use this link: Williams v. State of New York