In Gutelle v. City of New York (55 N.Y.2d 794 [1981] the city installed guardrail abutments that were alleged to be defective, and injuries occurred when a vehicle left the road and struck the same. The Court found summary judgment dismissing the action improper, stating: "That the existence of the allegedly defectively designed abutments did not cause plaintiff's vehicle to leave the roadway in the first instance is of no moment. As long as it can be demonstrated that the abutments were a substantial factor in aggravating plaintiff's injuries, a cause of action may be upheld" ( id. at 796).