GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The mother of a man killed outside of New York Fried Chicken has filed a $5 million wrongful-death lawsuit against the restaurant for allegedly failing to call 911.Do I understand this? Her son did something so stupid and unlawful that his death was ruled justifiable homicide, and she is demanding $5 million because the restaurant didn't call 911?
Kimberly Williams contends that her son, Terrance Bruce Williams, 24, could have survived if emergency workers were summoned earlier.
Her son's Oct. 21, 2012, killing in the restaurant parking lot was ruled justifiable homicide.
Surveillance video showed Williams approach Thomas Albert-Earl Davis with what appeared to be a gun, pointed at Davis, police said.
Davis hunched down, popped up and fired at Williams. Williams ran to a van that left for the hospital, police said.
Police said he died after surgery.
I remember many years ago taking a concealed weapons class in Cal8ifornia, and the deputy sheriff teaching it explained that if you ever engage in a completely righteous shoot, all the dead guy's family will come out of the woodwork to file suit. Proof positive.
And he left in a van that went to the hospital. How exactly would calling 911 have helped when he wasn't even on the scene anymore?
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty much a given isn't it anywhere in the USA that if you use a gun in self defense you better have assets or insurance to cover criminal and civil actions? An unfortunate reality.
ReplyDeleteI remember my Dad telling me about a guy he worked with (this was ~35 years ago) who had shot a burglar who was walking the halls of his house in the wee hours with a crowbar in hand and was later sued by this guy and his family. This was in Southern CA. Don't recall what the outcome was. I heard that the burglar claimed he thought he was in his own home! Right, everyone uses a crowbar to open their door!
A friend who teaches law in Minnesota persuaded the legislature to change the law so that you can't sue if you are injured while committing a felony.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the standard for determining if the plaintiff was committing a felony? Mr. "Ran-to-a-van" won't be tried for anything, let alone a felony, so there won't be any judgment, only allegations.
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