MS Tort Claims Act Case Involving Police vs. Pedestrian Collision Issued Favorable Ruling

 Daniel Coker Attorneys, Wilton V. Byars and Lauren E. Ward, successfully obtained judgment in favor of their client, City of Starkville, MS, in recent proceedings regarding a City of Starkville Police Officer who accidentally struck a pedestrian while on patrol in his police cruiser. The Plaintiff was walking in the officer’s lane of travel on a rainy night, while wearing all dark clothing, with his back to oncoming traffic. The Plaintiff alleged that the accident prevented him from completing enlistment in the U.S. Marines. After exhaustive discovery, it was determined that the Plaintiff was disqualified from enlistment ten months prior to the accident with no evidence that he was working to resolve the disqualification. Without this potential loss of wage-earning capacity, his claims were limited to less than $10,000 in medical costs. However, the Plaintiff chose to proceed to trial where a damages determination was unnecessary due to the court’s ruling that municipality was not liable for the accident, as the officer’s actions did not rise to a level of reckless disregard necessary to impose liability against the City of Starkville.