- Posted January 30, 2012
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Lawsuit against 911 operators will go forward
DETROIT (AP) -- The Michigan Supreme Court said last Thursday it won't intervene in a lawsuit that blames two 911 operators for the death of a Detroit woman, whose 5-year-old son had called for help.
The justices heard arguments on Jan. 11, but their brief order said "we are no longer persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed."
The decision means a ruling by the state appeals court will stand and a wrongful-death lawsuit can proceed in Wayne County Circuit Court. There will be a trial or a settlement.
In 2006, Robert Turner called 911, saying his mother had collapsed. The operator thought it was a prank but said she would send police. She didn't. Three hours later, after another phone call, a different operator dispatched officers but also scolded the boy.
"You shouldn't be playing on the phone. Now put her on the phone before I send the police out there to knock on the door and you gonna be in trouble," operator Terri Sutton said, according to a transcript.
The boy's mother, Sherrill Turner, was pronounced dead from a heart ailment about four hours after the first call.
Lawyers for Sutton and Sherry Nichols, the other operator, claimed the women have governmental immunity from the lawsuit, but the trial court and the appeals court disagreed.
"The circumstances surrounding defendants' conduct indicate that a reasonable juror could find the conduct to be extreme and outrageous. ... Triable issues of fact remain," the appeals court said in December 2010.
Published: Mon, Jan 30, 2012
headlines Oakland County
- Annual Dinner & Meeting
- FORCE Team arrests six in prolific auto theft ring
- Michigan allocates $12 million to support community-based organizations in advancing environmental and climate justice
- Oakland County and SMART launch pilot program providing free transit for veterans and dependents
- Supreme Court sides with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
headlines National
- More lawyers—and clients—want to learn about sustainable development practices
- Top artificial intelligence insurance tips for lawyers
- Lawyer charged with illegally transmitting Michigan data after 2020 election
- Viral video shows former Rikers Island inmate as she learns she passed bar exam on first try
- How Sullivan & Cromwell is scrutinizing potential new hires after campus protests
- No separate hearing required when police seize cars loaned to drivers accused of drug crimes, SCOTUS rules