$250,000 for Psychological Damage from Witnessing a Police Assault August 11, 2010

On July 16, 2010, I settled a case for a client who had suffered psychological abuse due to witnessing an assault by New York City Police on her father and the further misconduct by the New York City Police that traumatized the young girl. This was a sad case and the settlement payment recognizes the damage done to this now young woman and will help pay for the psychological care that she continues to receive.

I had been retained as trial counsel a few months before trial. We reached the settlement while the jury was deliberating the case. Just prior to the trial, the City had offered $20,000 to settle the case. The proper assessment and success at trial raised the offer to $250,000.

Facts of the Case

On the night of the incident, the young girl and her father arrived home late from visiting out-of-state relatives. Arriving by subway in the Bronx, the father sought a livery cab for the ride to their home. Here is where events took a tragic turn. Father and daughter sat in the front seat of a cab with two other passengers in the back seat.

Shortly after the livery cab began driving, New York City Police began to follow the cab. The Police put their lights on to pull over the livery cab – it had been reported stolen – and the driver began speeding and driving erratically to avoid the police. The cab crashed and the driver tried to flee on foot.

A police officer approached the passenger side of the cab with his gun drawn.  He told the father  to “get the f*** out of the car”.  The young girl – aged seven – was sitting on her father’s lap and her mouth was bleeding.  The father told the officer that his daughter was hurt but the officer just repeated “get the f*** out of the car”.   The police officer reached into the car and pulled the father out by his shoulders.  Then, the officer threw the father onto the sidewalk, face down, kneed him in the back, pulled his wrists behind him and handcuffed him.

The father protested the treatment and begged for help for his daughter.   The father told the officer that they were just passengers in the cab and offered to show him their train tickets.  The police officer told him to “shut up”, threatened to mace him, and beat him on his right side with a billy club.

The young girl was crying and bleeding.  The police officer told girl that if she didn’t get her father to shut up, the officer would spray mace into her father’s face.  Eventually, a police van arrived and two police officers dragged the father, unable to walk because of a knee injury he received from the beating , to the van.

The young girl witnessed all of these events and was standing on the sidewalk until a police officer put her in the back of a police car when her father was taken to the van.  She was frightened, confused and bleeding.  When they put her in the back of the police car, the girl thought she was being arrested as well.

Two police officers asked the girl if any relatives lived nearby. When she explained that her mother lived in Manhattan (her parents were separated), they took the girl to a relative’s home near-by.  The officers told the relative that the girl’s father had been arrested for stealing a car.

The police released the father a few hours later without filing any charges.

Proving the Case

The case hinged on a few key questions:

• Did the police assault the father and unjustly arrest him?
• Was the young girl in the “zone of danger” when she witnessed the assault and false arrest? A person can sue for emotional damages only when she is in the “zone of danger” of injury to a direct family member and her proximity to the incident makes it reasonable that she would fear for her own safety. 
• Did the Police violate procedures in their treatment of the young girl?
• Did the actions of the police cause psychological damage?

The City denied the assault and the mistreatment of the father and his daughter. We were able to prove the case through the testimony of the girl, her father, several relatives and the doctors who treated the young girl. We also used police records and statements taken from police personal at depositions to cement our case. Finally, I was able to undermine the testimony of the one officer who took the stand by demonstrating the contradictions in his testimony and the obvious misstatements.

Proving Damages

While we had to work hard to prove the liability of the New York City Police in this case, proving psychological damage can sometimes prove difficult. Juries, like most people, understand physical injuries more readily that psychological damage. This young woman had suffered greatly as her schooling was upset, the relationship wither father was upset and she suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome, a diagnosis with which the City doctor agreed. We were able to use the testimony of her treating doctor, the young woman’s own testimony and the testimony of family and relatives to document the impact this trauma had on her life.

Settling the Case

I had previously written about the importance of properly assessing the value of a case. After agreeing to serve as trial counsel, I conducted my own assessment of this case and determined that is was worth considerably more than originally suspected. The City and others viewed the young girl’s case as worth perhaps one-quarter of her father’s case; I saw otherwise.

Prior to my taking on this case, the City offered $20,000 for settlement. After I gave my opening and began prosecuting the case, the City offered my client $50,000.  The City attorneys felt that the daughter’s case was worth only one-third of her father’s. Because my client had an assessment in hand, she understood the value of the case and we rejected the City’s offer.

Many attorneys hope for a settlement so they do not have to go through a trial. I am a trial attorney at heart, so I had rigorously prepared the case. The stronger the trial preparation, the better positioned we are to push for a settlement.  We went to trial and the case went well for my client as we were able to introduce all the evidence and testimony we wanted, kept out some of the City’s evidence and an expert witness. I was able to undermine the testimony of the City’s doctor and the police officer.

As we finished the testimony in the case, the City raised their settlement offer to $150,000 for the daughter. The judge urged my client to accept the offer. My client wavered, but I advised her that my analysis showed the case was worth more and that she should continue. Despite the pressure from the others, my client agreed because she knew the assessment of the case.

The next morning, before we gave our summations in the case, the City raised their offer for my client to $200,000. Again, my assessment of the case led me to believe that the case was worth more.  We presented our closings to the jury and after hearing my summation in the case, the City raised their offer by another $50,000 to $250,000 for my client.

I still believed that the case was worth more, but my client now wanted to accept the offer. She settled for $250,000.  Having understood my assessment of the case, my client was able to withstand the pressure to settle and that earned her an extra $230,000 from the original offer of $20,000.

Police Assault Cases

I have successfully handled other police assault cases, including a Brooklyn case where an accident police shooting injured my client and we obtained a jury verdict of $560,000. I am currently handling additional police assault, negligence and false arrest cases.

Cases involving the police always present special challenges. We need to recognize that our police provide a vital service for our communities and they do so under great stress and at the risk of injury, even death. They are humans who will make mistakes and not every mistake rises to the level of negligence. I have friends who serve and I respect them and learn from them the difficulties that our police face. Early in my career, I worked as an attorney in the City Law Department and defended many police in court. When a client brings me a potential case involving the police, I always investigate it thoroughly before filing the case. Quite frankly, I do not want to improperly accuse a police officer.

If I find wrongdoing or the actions of a rogue police officer, I will prosecute the case with great passion. I do so both to serve my client’s best interest and to hold the rogue officers accountable. Our police deserve our respect; yet, when they violate their commitment to serve and protect, we need to hold them accountable. I also want to hold the police department leadership accountable. I know from having defended the police that the findings of civil cases can result in changes that improve the police department.

If you have unfairly suffered damages because of the actions of a rogue police officer, such as an assault or negligence, or if you have been falsely arrested, you may be entitled to compensation.  You may want to consult a New York personal injury attorney experienced with police assault, police negligence and false arrest cases. I will be glad to answer your questions and assist you. You can call me at 1-800-660-1466 or email me. You can also visit my website or read more on my blog, New York Law Thoughts.

Carol L. Schlitt
New York Personal Injury Attorney
http://www.schlittlaw.com/
1-800-660-1466
Carol@SchlittLaw.com

 This material is intended for informational uses only. It is not meant as legal advice. To receive legal advice, you should consult an attorney.