Successful Defense In Wrongful Death
August 23, 2017
A seven-year-old boy was walking to school with his mother when he unexpectedly jumped from the sidewalk into the street. At the exact same moment, a school district truck being driven by a school district employee turned the corner and hit and killed the boy.
At the time of the incident, employees of the municipalityâs Water Department were attempting to close a valve to stop the flow of water coming from a break in the school districtâs water service line, located roughly 100 feet to the west of the area of impact. Plaintiff, the boyâs mother, sued both the municipality and the school district; Plaintiff alleged the municipality had failed to implement proper and sufficient temporary traffic control when responding to the water leak. Plaintiffâs demand was $12 million.
Through expert witness discovery, it quickly became clear that the municipalityâs expert witnessesâ opinions were more complete and scientifically sound, compared with those of the Plaintiffâs and the school districtâs experts. In fact, Patton & Ryan affirmatively turned the spot light on the school district, highlighting the districtâs complete failure to respond to its own water leak in any manner.
After vigorous motion practice and expert discovery, Patton & Ryan was able to resolve Plaintiffâs claims against the municipality for a small fraction of Plaintiffâs demand on the morning our motion for summary judgment was to be heard and two days before trial was scheduled to begin.