When Police & Other Government Employees Cause Wrongful Death Through Negligence

Every year, thousands of innocent, unarmed citizens are negligently killed by police, either directly or even indirectly through negligence, and more and more cities are being sued by their families in connection with wrongful death claims. Some of these incidents occur as a result of calls from concerned family members, who call because a family member is engaging in erratic behavior, or there’s been a family fight, etc., or as the result of taking someone into an ambulance, or as the result of a traffic stop, etc.

 When a loved one is killed due to government negligence, in addition to filing a wrongful death claim under Georgia’s Wrongful Death Act, there is also the option of filing a federal wrongful death civil rights lawsuit for violating an individual’s Fourth Amendment rights.

Who Can Be Held Responsible?

When police officers or others respond to a scene, or take someone into custody or into their ambulance, they have a duty to behave as an objectively reasonable officer would and not place that individual at a substantial and/or unreasonable risk of serious harm through a reckless disregard for their safety. This means that they must keep anyone in custody reasonably safe, including ensuring that medical transport is provided if that individual appears to need medical treatment, and that they are not self-harming, and take reasonably available measures to abate any risk – measures that a reasonable officer in similar circumstances would take. This can also include responding to signs that someone could be in harm’s way – for example, signs that someone could be the victim of domestic violence – and failing to take action to protect that individual.

The question of when police officers are responsible for getting an individual medical attention can come into question in litigation. However, officers are supposed to receive training so that they can recognize the signs of an overdose, mental health conditions, and other circumstances that could constitute a medical emergency requiring immediate medical treatment to help prevent self-mutilation, suicide, or other dangerous behavior.

In addition, these lawsuits also aren’t just limited to police officers: Families of a number of individuals who have died as the result of negligence behavior from paramedics have also filed wrongful death lawsuits against workers and their employers, whether that be the city, the ambulance company, or others. Cities can be held vicariously liable for the negligent actions of their employees while those employees are acting in the course and scope of their employment, and can be accountable for negligent hiring, supervising, and retaining the employees in question, and for failing to realize that they were not properly trained or fit for service. The city can also be held responsible for failure to properly train officers, paramedics, or other employees to respond to incidents such that citizens are kept safe and not placed in harm’s way.

Lawsuits like these are especially important if a health department or other expert entity has issued any kind of report or guidance that police officers and paramedics are supposed to follow in terms of procedures, and they failed to follow these procedures; For example, a statement listing what factors workers should or should not take into account in deciding to do x,y, or z, or requiring that personnel perform certain steps first before they escalate a situation, or even guidance concerning ensuring very particular equipment that should be on hand in order to monitor vital signs before decisions are made regarding administering particular medications or transporting certain individuals if they are injured in particular ways, etc.

Let Us Help You Today

If you’ve lost a loved one due to someone else’s negligence, it can be devastating. Feeling that whomever is responsible is intimidating or gaslighting you so as to deter justice just adds onto an already impossible situation.

If a loved one dies as a direct and proximate result of the conduct of police officers, paramedics, or other government employees, and as a result, is deprived of not only their life, but also of the rights, privileges and immunities secured under the Fourth Amendment, claims can be brought to recover damages for wrongful death, including medical, burial, funeral, estate, and attorney expenses, amongst others.

If you have any questions about the wrongful death of a loved one, contact our Macon wrongful death attorneys at the Law Offices of Buzzell, Welsh & Hill today for assistance.

Sources:

ktvu.com/news/vallejo-agrees-to-pay-2-8-million-in-wrongful-death-suit-of-angel-ramos

cbs4indy.com/indiana-news/another-wrongful-death-lawsuit-filed-against-city-of-evansville-epd/

bcnews.com/news/us-news/family-mom-5-died-ketamine-injection-paramedic-files-wrongful-death-la-rcna55509

npr.org/2022/11/03/1134225165/gabby-petitos-family-files-a-wrongful-death-suit-against-moab