In Sclafani v. Young Adult Institute, Inc., 240 A.D.3d 816 (App. Div. 2d Dept’ 2025) the Court clarified the duties of programs serving developmentally disabled adults regarding supervision and liability for injuries caused by fellow students.

On October 19, 2016, plaintiff, a developmentally disabled adult and member of the defendant Young Adult Institute, Inc. (YAI), was allegedly knocked over in the parking lot of YAI’s Brentwood campus by another student.  Plaintiff, through her mother, and her mother suing individually, brought a personal injury action against YAI, alleging negligent supervision. YAI moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, while the plaintiffs cross-moved for summary judgment on the issue of liability. The Supreme Court, Suffolk County, initially granted YAI’s motion and denied the plaintiffs’ cross-motion.

The Appellate Division modified the lower court’s order, denying YAI’s motion for summary judgment and affirming the remainder of the order. In doing so, the court emphasized that programs such as YAI owe a duty to adequately supervise developmentally disabled adults and are liable for foreseeable injuries that result from insufficient supervision. The court highlighted that to establish negligence, it must be shown that (1) the program had sufficiently specific knowledge or notice of dangerous conduct by a fellow student; and (2) any breach of the duty to supervise was a proximate cause of the injury.

Here, the court found that YAI failed to demonstrate, as a matter of law, that it provided adequate supervision. Evidence, including individualized service plans and prior reviews of the fellow student, created triable issues of fact regarding whether additional staff attention could have prevented the incident. Therefore, YAI could not obtain summary judgment dismissing the complaint.

This decision reinforces the principle that programs for developmentally disabled adults must take reasonable steps to anticipate and prevent harm from foreseeable risks posed by other students. Like previous cases involving schools and educational programs, whether supervision was adequate and whether any deficiency caused the injury are generally questions for a jury.

Giulia R. Marino, Esq.