Rushink v. Gerstheimer
New York State Supreme Court
82 A.D.2d 944 (1981)
Mary Gerstheimer (defendant) parked at the Middletown Psychiatric Center, leaving her keys in the ignition and the car unattended in violation of a New York statute barring drivers from leaving a vehicle unattended without removing or hiding the keys. A resident patient at the facility, Stephen Rushink, drove off in Gerstheimer's car, crashed, and died. Rushink's estate (plaintiff) sued Gerstheimer for negligence, arguing her statutory violation made her negligent per se; both sides moved for summary judgment, and the trial court denied both motions, prompting cross-appeals.
Whether a defendant's violation of a public-safety statute constitutes negligence per se, so long as the plaintiff is within the class of persons the statute was intended to protect.