San Francisco Injury Lawyer Blog

Generally, there are very few incidents in which individuals can sue police officials for wrongdoing in the line of duty. In order to do their job effectively, police officers may not be civilly liable for causing damage to property or people because if they were, then they may not be able to act speedily in emergency situations. For example, if there is a burning house, police officers and firemen may destroy property in order to reach someone inside, but they would not be civilly liable in a lawsuit if the property owner decided to sue them for damaging the house. However, there are different standards that must be met in different situations, even for emergency officials. If, for instance, a police officer was pursuing a suspect, and shot into a crowd of people, this would likely be outside of his standard of duty and would probably be considered negligent if he shot and killed an innocent bystander.

The Indiana Supreme Court held that law enforcement immunity did not protect police officers from negligent lawsuits arising from car chases gone wrong. This unanimous ruling in 2006 led to the lawsuit settlement for Richard Garman on March 23, 2009. There was a high speed car chase in 1999 in which police officers were wrongly informed that a car had a stolen license plate. When they pursued the car, the driver, Jessie L. Smith, fled and crashed into Garmen’s car, severely injuring Garmen and killing his fiancée. The lawsuit settled for $75,000 for Garmen’s injuries, his emotional distress and the depression that resulted from his fiancée’s death. The lawsuit was not aimed at Smith, who was sentenced to three years in prison, but rather at police officials in Indiana who, Garmen claims, have too much leeway in their car chases. The city of Indianapolis likely settled the lawsuit in hopes of avoiding a costly trial without having to admit liability.

Being involved in a lawsuit against a city or city officials may be a tough battle to fight. That’s why you need someone with over 50 years of experience on your side. The attorneys at Greenberg & Rudman LLP are experienced trial attorneys who have taken on big insurance companies and won. Call us now at 1-800-252-9776 (1-800-ALAWPRO)—you will speak directly to an experienced California personal injury lawyer. All consultations are free and confidential. Please also go to our website, www.alawpro.com to learn more about car accidents and wrongful death lawsuits.