We all depend upon our government to protect us. Generally, however, a municipality may not be held liable for injuries arising out of its failure to adequately protect the health and safety of the public at large. The analysis of governmental immunity turns first on the nature of the precise conduct in which the municipality is alleged to have negligently engaged. For example, if the conduct is proprietary, it will be subject to the same duty of care as private individuals and institutions engaging in the same activity,1 and the municipality may be held liable for breach of that duty.2

However, the general rule has been that an agency of government is not liable for the negligent performance of a governmental function unless there existed a special duty to the injured person, in contrast to a general duty owed to the public. Such a duty arises out of a special relationship between the plaintiff and the governmental entity. In these situations, the municipality promises to undertake a special responsibility for the individual’s health or safety and the individual relies upon that promise. Negligence in the performance of this special duty which the municipality has expressly assumed may result in liability. The most common of the special duty cases arises out of an explicit promise of police protection to a particular individual who relies on this promise to his or her detriment.

‘Cuffy’ and ‘McLean’

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