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