Rhode Island allows people to sue cities and towns when careless government actions cause injury. However, those claims may be limited by a rule known as the public duty doctrine.
The Rhode Island Supreme Court is currently deciding whether it applies to a client Rob Levine Law is representing. The firm filed a claim against the Pawtucket Water Supply Board after our client tripped and fell on a metal curb box cap. A jury found the water board negligent, but the trial judge then ruled that the public duty doctrine protected it.
The Supreme Court’s decision could affect anyone who gets hurt by equipment that a city or town maintains. Here’s how the public duty doctrine works and what the ruling could mean for you.
Understanding the Public Duty Doctrine
Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-31-1, you can sue the state or a city or town for negligence or carelessness. You have the right to hold the government accountable in the same way you could sue a private person or company. The public duty doctrine is a legal rule that can limit when someone can hold a government entity responsible for an injury.
In Haley v. Town of Lincoln, 611 A.2d 845, 849 (R.I. 1992), the Rhode Island Supreme Court said the doctrine protects the government from liability arising out of “discretionary governmental actions that by their nature are not ordinarily performed by private persons.”
In simple terms, courts ask one key question: Is the activity that caused the injury something private people or companies usually do? The answer often leads to one of two results:
- If private people or companies ordinarily perform the activity, the normal rules apply. The government must use reasonable care, just like anyone else. If it doesn’t and you get hurt, you can hold it responsible the same way you would a private business. For example, say a city employee runs a red light in a city truck and hits your car. You can file a claim just as you could if a delivery driver caused the crash.
- If private individuals or companies don’t ordinarily engage in the activity, the doctrine may protect the government. These activities involve the government’s judgment calls about how to protect the public and use its resources. If one of these decisions caused your injury, you may not get compensation unless an exception applies.
When the Public Duty Doctrine Protects the Government
Some activities belong only to the government. Private citizens can’t arrest people, inspect buildings for code violations, or issue permits. They also don’t decide how tax dollars are spent or which roads a public works crew should fix first.
Examples of activities that courts often treat as governmental functions include:
- Deciding where and how often police patrol
- Choosing whether to open a police investigation
- Deciding whether to install a traffic light, stop sign, or other traffic control device
- Designing roads and intersections
- Approving building plans and new development projects
- Making zoning decisions about how land can be used
- Planning school bus routes
Governments make these choices every day, often with limited budgets. If people could sue over every one of them, judges and juries would end up deciding how the government should run. The public duty doctrine may protect the government from lawsuits over choices like these.
Exceptions to the Public Duty Doctrine
Even when an activity is a governmental function, Rhode Island courts recognize two main exceptions. The public duty doctrine may not protect the government when:
- The government owed you a special legal duty. This can happen when officials dealt with you directly or knew about your situation. Then, something they did or failed to do put you at risk.
- The government’s conduct was egregious. This can apply when the government knew, or should have known, about a serious danger. It had enough time to fix the problem but did nothing.
For example, suppose a town removes the stop signs at a busy intersection and never puts up a traffic light. Crashes start to pile up, and residents complain to the town for months. If the town knows drivers are in danger and has plenty of time to act, but does nothing, a court could find its conduct egregious. Installing traffic controls is usually a governmental function, but ignoring a known danger this long could go beyond what the public duty doctrine protects.
The Public Duty Doctrine in Practice: O’Gara v. Ferrante
The Rhode Island Supreme Court applied the public duty doctrine in O’Gara v. Ferrante, 690 A.2d 1354 (R.I. 1997). In that case, a driver hit a cyclist at a North Providence intersection and claimed that overgrown plants blocked the driver’s view. The cyclist sued the homeowners next to the intersection. After settling, the homeowners sued the town, arguing that the plants grew on land that was part of the public highway.
The trial court held that the public duty doctrine blocked the claim. The Rhode Island Supreme Court disagreed and reversed the trial court’s ruling. It reasoned that trimming plants is something private property owners do all the time, so the doctrine did not apply.
If the plants were within the highway’s boundaries, the town had a duty to use reasonable care to keep that area safe for people using the road. The town’s own conduct supported that conclusion: after the accident, it had told the homeowners to cut back the plants.
Our Case: A Trip and Fall on Water System Equipment
Our client tripped and fell on a metal curb box cap, an access point the Pawtucket Water Supply Board uses to reach underground water lines and shut-off valves.
At trial, a jury found the company negligent in maintaining the curb box and awarded damages to our client. The trial judge subsequently set aside the verdict, ruling that maintaining the curb box was a governmental function protected by the public duty doctrine.
The firm appealed the ruling, and the Rhode Island Supreme Court heard oral arguments in September 2026. The Court has not yet issued a decision, and the appeal remains pending.
What Will the Rhode Island Supreme Court Decide?
The Rhode Island Supreme Court must decide whether the public duty doctrine protects the water board. To do that, it must answer a key question: Do private companies ordinarily maintain water-system equipment such as curb boxes?
The water board says no. It claims that maintaining water system equipment is a governmental function. Rob Levine Law attorney Scott Tierney argues that private water companies routinely install, inspect, and repair curb boxes, valves, and water lines.
The Pawtucket Water Supply Board also runs much like a business. Its own website describes it as a semi-autonomous agent of the city. Customers’ water rates fund its operations. The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission, which oversees privately owned utilities, regulates those rates.
The firm is asking the Supreme Court to overturn the trial judge’s decision and reinstate the jury’s verdict. A decision is expected in the coming weeks.
What Could the Decision Mean for You?
Cities and towns across Rhode Island maintain equipment that people walk past every day. The court’s ruling could change what happens when that equipment hurts someone:
- A ruling in our client’s favor would confirm that the usual rules apply to such activities. When a city or town agency maintains equipment as a privately held company would, it must exercise the same reasonable care. If it doesn’t, injured people could file a lawsuit and hold the government accountable.
- A ruling for the water board could widen the doctrine’s reach. More of the equipment that cities and towns maintain could fall under the public duty doctrine. People who trip over utility covers and other city-maintained equipment could lose their right to compensation.
No matter how the court rules, one thing is already clear. In claims against the government, what you tripped on can matter as much as where you fell. We’ll share the court’s decision, and what it means for you, as soon as the ruling comes out.
Injured on Public Property? Call Rob Levine Law
Our client’s claim began as many of our slip and fall cases do: with an ordinary walk that ended in an injury. When the trial judge set aside the jury’s verdict, we didn’t walk away. We took the case to the state’s highest court because we believe the government should be held accountable for negligence, just like anyone else.
Did something a city, town, or water department maintains cause your injury? Rob Levine Law will listen to what happened and help you understand your options. Our Free Fee Guarantee® means you don’t pay a fee unless we recover compensation on your behalf. Contact us online or call 888-791-9135 today for a free consultation.
