01-30-2009, 06:21 AM
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Law enforcement agencies can be sued over "safety checks" that go bad, a sharply divided Florida Supreme Court said Thursday.
The justices ruled 4-3 in the case of a woman who later died after two Marion County deputies, responding to a 911 call, refused to summon an ambulance even though they couldn't wake her. One of the deputies entered her home through an unlocked window.
Two dissenting justices said they feared the ruling would discourage law enforcement agencies, other government employees and private citizens from helping in such cases for fear of being sued.
The deputies owed the woman, Brenda Wallace, "a common-law duty of care" upon responding to the 911 call placed after her daughter, who was out of state, and neighbors were unable to get her to answer the phone or respond to knocks on her doors and windows, Justice R. Fred Lewis wrote for the majority.
"These agents of the sheriff responded to the scene, entered a home, engaged the unconscious resident, provided an assessment of her safety, and further assured concerned third parties that she was simply asleep and did not need medical attention," Lewis wrote.
He added the deputies, because they were in a position of authority, "increased the risk of harm" by discouraging neighbors from calling an ambulance themselves. The neighbors, though, did call one the next day because Wallace was still unresponsive and had soiled herself. She was taken to a hospital where she died several days later without regaining consciousness.
The ruling reverses decisions by a trial judge, who had dismissed a lawsuit by the woman's daughter, Kelly Wallace, and the 5th District Court of Appeal. The case now goes back to Marion County for trial.
"We have always believed that all of us, law enforcement included, have a duty to each other to use reasonable care," said Mark Avera, Wallace's lawyer. "Our Supreme Court confirmed that principle."
In his dissent, Justice Charles Wells quoted from the appellate ruling, which suggested police would stop doing safety checks or call an ambulance even when not needed. Wells then wrote that the neighbors also may be subject to liability for waiting a day to call an ambulance.
The Marion County Sheriff's Office, though, has no plans to halt safety checks, said James Pogue, a spokesman for Sheriff Ed Dean.
"Our stance is if you call 911 we're going to respond," Pogue said.
He said the agency is ready to take the case to trial but declined to discuss details because it remains unresolved.
"We stand behind our officers," he said.
Justice Charles Canady joined Wells' dissent, which also argued the high court should not have taken the case because it differed in some respects from a conflicting appellate ruling. Justice Ricky Polston cited only a lack of conflict in a separate dissent.
Lewis, though, wrote that conflicting cases need only be similar, not identical, in their factual scenario to trigger Supreme Court jurisdiction.
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The justices ruled 4-3 in the case of a woman who later died after two Marion County deputies, responding to a 911 call, refused to summon an ambulance even though they couldn't wake her. One of the deputies entered her home through an unlocked window.
Two dissenting justices said they feared the ruling would discourage law enforcement agencies, other government employees and private citizens from helping in such cases for fear of being sued.
The deputies owed the woman, Brenda Wallace, "a common-law duty of care" upon responding to the 911 call placed after her daughter, who was out of state, and neighbors were unable to get her to answer the phone or respond to knocks on her doors and windows, Justice R. Fred Lewis wrote for the majority.
"These agents of the sheriff responded to the scene, entered a home, engaged the unconscious resident, provided an assessment of her safety, and further assured concerned third parties that she was simply asleep and did not need medical attention," Lewis wrote.
He added the deputies, because they were in a position of authority, "increased the risk of harm" by discouraging neighbors from calling an ambulance themselves. The neighbors, though, did call one the next day because Wallace was still unresponsive and had soiled herself. She was taken to a hospital where she died several days later without regaining consciousness.
The ruling reverses decisions by a trial judge, who had dismissed a lawsuit by the woman's daughter, Kelly Wallace, and the 5th District Court of Appeal. The case now goes back to Marion County for trial.
"We have always believed that all of us, law enforcement included, have a duty to each other to use reasonable care," said Mark Avera, Wallace's lawyer. "Our Supreme Court confirmed that principle."
In his dissent, Justice Charles Wells quoted from the appellate ruling, which suggested police would stop doing safety checks or call an ambulance even when not needed. Wells then wrote that the neighbors also may be subject to liability for waiting a day to call an ambulance.
The Marion County Sheriff's Office, though, has no plans to halt safety checks, said James Pogue, a spokesman for Sheriff Ed Dean.
"Our stance is if you call 911 we're going to respond," Pogue said.
He said the agency is ready to take the case to trial but declined to discuss details because it remains unresolved.
"We stand behind our officers," he said.
Justice Charles Canady joined Wells' dissent, which also argued the high court should not have taken the case because it differed in some respects from a conflicting appellate ruling. Justice Ricky Polston cited only a lack of conflict in a separate dissent.
Lewis, though, wrote that conflicting cases need only be similar, not identical, in their factual scenario to trigger Supreme Court jurisdiction.
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