Connecticut Dispatcher Not Liable For $12 Million Verdict

The Connecticut Supreme Court handed down a ruling last week in a very interesting case involving a volunteer firefighter who used his flashing lights to pursue a hit and run driver. The ruling involved whether a police dispatcher should have instructed the firefighter to stop pursuing a fleeing vehicle, and whether her failure to do so stripped her of the governmental immunity protection she otherwise would have been entitled to.

Ellen Vece was a police dispatcher for the town of Clinton, and is at the center of the suit. Matthew Vincent was a volunteer firefighter with the Clinton Volunteer Fire Department.  Back in 2005, Vincent’s car was sideswiped by a car driven by William Cardillo. Cardillo fled the scene with Vincent in pursuit.  Vincent called 911 and spoke with Vece relaying updates on the location and direction Cardillo was traveling. Walker Hopkins, a passenger in Cardillo’s vehicle, suffered a traumatic brain injury when the chase ended in a crash. Hopkins will require permanent care for the rest of his life.

Suit was brought on Hopkins’ behalf against Cardillo, Vece, Vincent, the Clinton Volunteer Fire Department, and the town of Clinton. According to the Connecticut Supreme Court: “The jury… found that Vece’s failure to [tell Vincent to stop pursuing Cardillo] was a proximate cause of Hopkins’ injuries. As a result, the jury attributed 90 percent of the negligence to Vece and ultimately awarded the plaintiff $12,713,612.97 in damages.”

Since Vece was a town employee, the town was liable for 90% of $12.7 million.  The town appealed claiming Vece was entitled to governmental immunity.

Here is an overview of the facts as the Supreme Court explains them:

On August 5, 2005, Hopkins was a passenger in the dark red Infiniti, which was driven by Cardillo. At approximately 9:15 p.m., Cardillo was slowly making a left hand turn at the intersection of Route 81 and Glenwood Road in Clinton when his vehicle swerved and hit the rear left quarter panel of Vincent’s car. After this initial collision, Vincent stopped, but Cardillo proceeded to drive away on Glenwood Road at approximately twenty miles per hour. Vincent then continued on Glenwood Road, pursuing the Infiniti at approximately forty to fifty miles per hour. The route consisted of winding, narrow, residential roads with speed limits of twenty-five or thirty miles per hour. This pursuit lasted for nearly three miles.

At some point during the pursuit, Vincent turned on blue courtesy lights, with which his car was equipped because he was a volunteer firefighter. Blue courtesy lights, which are similar to police lights, are intended to be used when a volunteer firefighter is responding to a fire or a medical emergency. An eyewitness stated that, at one point during the pursuit, Vincent’s vehicle and the Infiniti were less than two feet apart and Vincent’s vehicle had its ‘‘hazards on or flashers on . . . .’’

After Vincent had been following the Infiniti for between four and five minutes, the Infiniti collided with a tree and caught on fire. As a result of this second collision, Hopkins sustained serious injuries, including a closed head injury and traumatic brain injury. Following their arrival at the accident scene, the police issued Vincent a citation for the improper use of his blue courtesy lights.

While Vincent was following the Infiniti, he relayed information regarding the Infiniti and its location to Vece via cell phone. Vincent initially called 911 when he realized that Cardillo was not going to stop after the initial collision occurred. Vincent and Vece knew each other well and had communicated more than 100 times about security issues at Clinton Crossing. During the 911 call, Vincent’s tone was calm and collected. When Vece answered the call and asked if it was an emergency, Vincent calmly responded: ‘‘Yes, it is.’’ He informed her that he ‘‘just got hit by a  motor vehicle’’ and that the vehicle ‘‘took off . . . .’’ He also told Vece that he was ‘‘trying to catch up to [the vehicle] to get [the license] plate [number].’’ When Vece asked where Vincent was, he continuously provided her with information on his location and the location of the Infiniti.

Approximately thirty-six seconds into the 911 call, Vincent provided Vece with the license plate number of the Infiniti. After another few minutes, Vincent gave Vece a more detailed description of the Infiniti, including its model name and color.

Importantly, the audio recording of the 911 call revealed that there were no outside noises to indicate that Vincent was driving at an excessive rate of speed. Moreover, there was nothing in the conversation between Vincent and Vece during the 911 call to indicate that Vincent had been using his blue courtesy lights while he was following the Infiniti.

Approximately three minutes into the 911 call, Vincent informed Vece that the Infiniti had ‘‘just taken off and [was] going at a high rate of speed . . . [u]p Ironworks [Road].’’ Vincent then said that he did not ‘‘know how fast [he] want[ed] [to go] to try to catch up to [the Infiniti].’’ Vece replied that the police ‘‘[knew] who it [was].’’ At trial, Vece explained that there was no reason for Vincent to continue following the Infiniti at that point because the police were aware of the identity of the driver of the Infiniti.  Approximately ten seconds later, Vincent exclaimed that Cardillo ‘‘just wrecked it’’ by ‘‘roll[ing] the car’’ and that ‘‘[t]he car [was] on fire.’’

The jury found in favor of the plaintiff on January 25, 2011. Specifically, the jury found that (1) Vece was negligent and that her negligence was a proximate cause of Hopkins’ injuries, (2) an exception to governmental immunity applied because the circumstances would have made it apparent to Vece that her failure to act would have been likely to subject an identifiable person to imminent harm, (3) Hopkins was not negligent and did not cause his own injuries, (4) Vincent was negligent and that his negligence was a proximate cause of Hopkins’ injuries, and (5) Cardillo was negligent and that his negligence was a proximate cause of Hopkins’ injuries. The jury apportioned 90 percent of the negligence to Vece, 5 percent to Vincent, and 5 percent to Cardillo.

The court refused to hold the town and Vece liable on the facts, concluding that to lose immunity protection under the circumstances Vece would have to have known that Vincent was engaged in “a dangerous vehicular pursuit”, something that was not apparent. The court refused to impose a duty on a dispatcher to ask questions intended to elicit such information from a pursuing motorist.

The case may proceed against the other defendants. Neither Vincent nor the Clinton Volunteer Fire Department were involved in the appeal. Let’s see… 5% of $12.7 million is $635,000.

Here is a copy of the ruling. Edgerton v Clinton