BUG: improve pd.io.json_normalize

doc/source/whatsnew/v2.2.2.rst

@@ -21,7 +21,8 @@ Fixed regressions
 
 Bug fixes
 ~~~~~~~~~
--
+-- Fixed bug in :func:`pandas.io.json_normalize` raising with errors='ignore' while traversing empty list (:issue:`57810`)
+
 
 .. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 .. _whatsnew_222.other:

pandas/io/json/_normalize.py

@@ -432,14 +432,14 @@ def _pull_field(
     ) -> Scalar | Iterable:
         """Internal function to pull field"""
         result = js
+        if not isinstance(spec, list):
+            spec = [spec]
         try:
-            if isinstance(spec, list):
-                for field in spec:
-                    if result is None:
-                        raise KeyError(field)
-                    result = result[field]
-            else:
-                result = result[spec]
+            for field in spec:
+                # GH 57810
+                if result is None or not len(result):
+                    raise KeyError(field)
+                result = result[field]
         except KeyError as e:
             if extract_record:
                 raise KeyError(

pandas/tests/io/json/test_normalize.py

@@ -106,6 +106,15 @@ def missing_metadata():
             ],
             "previous_residences": {"cities": [{"city_name": "Barmingham"}]},
         },
+        {
+            "name": "Minnie",
+            "addresses": [
+                {
+                    "number": 8449,
+                }
+            ],
+            "previous_residences": [],
+        },
     ]
 
 
@@ -631,6 +640,7 @@ def test_missing_meta(self, missing_metadata):
         ex_data = [
             [9562, "Morris St.", "Massillon", "OH", 44646, "Alice"],
             [8449, "Spring St.", "Elizabethton", "TN", 37643, np.nan],
+            [8449, np.nan, np.nan, np.nan, np.nan, "Minnie"],
         ]
         columns = ["number", "street", "city", "state", "zip", "name"]
         expected = DataFrame(ex_data, columns=columns)