Woman's Family Drowns, City Claims Immunity


Edith Suarez's husband, Hector, and twin daughters drowned at a man made beach in Texas in 2010. The two girls were struggling to stay afloat when they were ten feet away from the beach, so Hector went out to try to help them. All three were swept away.

The dike has been open since 1963 and visitors are allowed to fish, boat, and hunt crabs, but swimming is only allowed in certain areas. Hurricane Ike in 2008 destroyed a portion of the dike, and not all of the warning signs have been replaced.

Edith sued the city for negligence and gross negligence, claiming the city knew the dangers of beach.

The city trial denied Texas City immunity, but the Texas Supreme Court reversed that decision. Texas Supreme Court ruled that Texas city cannot be sued for its "deadly undertows" from passing ships.

Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman said that Texas City is covered by immunity, and wrote that, "immunity is waived only if the governmental entity (1) knew about a condition of the property giving rise to an extreme degree of risk and (2) proceeded with conscious indifference to the rights, safety and welfare of others." She continued and said that, " to the extent this evidence raises any inference that the city knew uniquely perilous conditions existed at the beach (or at the dike generally), the evidence is equally consistent with mere knowledge of the risks inherently associated with open-water swimming."

Comments from Allen:

Sovereign immunity in the US is a privilege that does not allow federal, state, and tribal governments to be sued without their consent. It is based on the principle of "rex non potest peccare," which means "the king can do no wrong."

The states, and the United States can, however, waive that immunity and allow themselves to be sued.  The US and individual states generally allow citizens to sue them for negligence.  In Idaho, the State of Idaho has allowed itself to be sued in specific instances, and likewise has prohibited suits against it for certain types of behavior.  The details of this waiver of immunity are contained in the Idaho Tort Claims Act, found at Chapter 9, Title 6, of the Idaho Code.

If you have been wronged by a person acting in his capacity as a state employee, even if the type of wrong is prohibited under the state Tort Claims Act, you will be allowed to bring suit against the individual who wronged you if your situation is a violation of your civil rights covered by the United States Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. 1983.

In the case of the Suarez family, their civil rights were not violated.  To the extent the state did anything wrong, it was through negligence.   Because the state did not waive its immunity to be sued in this specific instance, the family has no recourse against the state for its failure to replace missing signs warning of dangerous surf.

***********************************************************************************************************************

Allen Browning is an attorney in Idaho Falls, Idaho who handles personal injury and criminal defense. He has over 30 years of experience and handled thousands of cases. Allen work with cases from all over Idaho. Call (208) 542-2700 to set up a free consultation if you are facing legal trouble or you have been involved in an accident.

Also, check out browninglaw.net for more information about Allen and Browning Law.

Allen Browning can help with all personal injury claims including motor vehicle accidents, serious and disabling accidents, and wrongful death claims.


Allen Browning is an Idaho Falls attorney who can also help with drunk driving (DUI) , Felony, Misdemeanor, Domestic Violence, Drug Crimes, Theft, Juvenile Crimes, Violent Crimes, and Probation/Parole Violations. He is one of the most experienced and successful criminal defense attorneys in Idaho.


Sources for more information:

http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/07/08/widow-cant-sue-city-for-drowning-deaths.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_immunity_in_the_United_States

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

7 Things Lawyers Can't Tell Jurors

Image
 It is a trial lawyer's job to educate jurors, and tell them what they need to know in order to decide cases. Despite this, there are many things, true things, that lawyers are not allowed to tell jurors directly in statements to the jury or indirectly through testimony of their witnesses. Lawyers know these things, though, and I thought you might like to know some of things. #1. A lawyer can't tell the jurors anything that happened during settlement negotiations. He cannot let the jurors know, when asking them to make the defendant pay his client $100,000 that the defendant agreed to pay him $80,000 prior to the trial. The reason for this is that you want settlement negotiations to be very open. You don't want to damage a negotiation session because someone is afraid that what they say will get repeated to a jury if you don't strike a deal. #2 In Idaho, a lawyer can't tell the jurors that the defendant has insurance. In many other states, he can. Bec
Read more

OBAMA APPOINTEE DENIES GIULIANI ABILITY TO DEFEND HIMSELF, RESULTS IN $148 MILLION JUDGMENT

Image
In the aftermath of the January 6, 2021 protests, Rudy Giuliani has been ordered to pay over $148 million in damages to two Georgia election workers named by the former New York mayor.  What has not been explained to the general public is that there was never any trial concerning whether Mr. Giuliani had actually slandered or libeled these two persons.   In the case of Giuliani, the two Georgia election workers listed as plaintiffs in the suit against Giuliani sued him for saying they engaged in what amounted to election fraud.  They are allowed to ask the defendant ex-mayor for documents relevant to their suit and to his defense. These women brought their case against Giuliani in a jurisdiction that is heavily populated with Democrats.  They could have sued in their home state, Georgia, but did not. They wanted a jury pool of anti-Trump democrats, so they sued in Washington, D.C. They managed to get an incredibly biased Barack Obama-appointed, anti-Trump judge.  She is a far-left-lean
Read more

Man Framed by Prosecutor Released After 29 Years in Prison Seeking Lawsuit

Image
19 year old, Charise Kamps, was found raped and strangled to death in her apartment in June 1980. Ralph Armstrong told the police that both of them were at the apartment alone doing cocaine before leaving to go see friends around 9:30 pm. Police said that they learned that Armstrong owed Kamp's boyfriend $400 and witnesses saw Armstrong handing Kamps money that night. However, the money was not found in the apartment, and Armstrong deposited $315 in his bank the next day.The defense argued that he got the money from his brother. One of the neighbors saw a lean, muscular man about 5 feet 5 inches tall with long, dark hair drive up to the apartment. Before the identification process, the police had the witness hypnotized. He was shown a photograph of Armstrong, and After being hypnotized, the witness changed the height of the man he saw. Later at a lineup to have the witness select the man he saw, he chose Armstrong. The other people in the lineup were police officers in wigs
Read more