Red Light Camera News Suit filed over dialysis patient's injuries, Claims county driver stopped short to avoid RLC ticket
Suit filed over dialysis patient's injuries
Claims county driver stopped short to avoid red-light camera ticket
By SCOTT DAUGHERTY, Staff Writer
Published 06/14/10
A county employee responsible for driving people to and from dialysis treatments seriously injured an elderly woman in 2007 when he slammed on the brakes to avoid getting nabbed by a red-light camera just outside Annapolis, according to a lawsuit filed by the woman's estate.
Geraldine Jones, a 72-year-old double-leg amputee who was in a wheelchair at the time of the Oct. 29, 2007, incident, was thrown to the floor of the county Department of Aging and Disabilities van and broke her left thigh bone and right collarbone. She died seven months later, on May 25, 2008.
Gregory Swain, an attorney representing Jones' estate, said he plans to argue that the broken bones contributed to Jones' death. He declined further comment about the lawsuit, which was filed April 20 in county Circuit Court in Annapolis and seeks $400,000 in damages.
Assistant County Attorney Philip Culpepper said the county was not liable for Jones' injuries, but declined to elaborate.
Officials with the county's Department of Aging and Disabilities could not be reached for comment. A staff member who answered the phone said the department had no record of the incident, but forwarded The Capital to the department's Office of Risk Management. Officials of that office were unavailable Friday.
According to the lawsuit, Johnny Dorsey picked up Jones from her dialysis appointment at BMA South Annapolis on Harry S Truman Parkway outside Annapolis. He strapped the wheelchair into the van about 3:30 p.m. and started driving Jones to her home in Annapolis.
Shortly after leaving the dialysis center, Dorsey "suddenly and without warning slammed on the brakes" to stop the van on Riva Road at its intersection with Aris T. Allen Boulevard, the lawsuit said.
The estate believes that Dorsey, who officials with the Department of Aging and Disabilities said Friday no longer worked for the county, stopped suddenly to avoid running a red light and receiving an automatic ticket from the intersection's red-light camera.
The momentum from the "sudden stop" threw Jones from her wheelchair and "hurled" her toward the front of the van, the lawsuit said. She landed on the floor and broke her femur and clavicle.
The lawsuit claims the county was negligent in the crash. Specifically, the estate argues that the county "owed (Jones) a duty to exercise the utmost degree of care, skill and diligence practical under the circumstances," but failed to do so when the driver did not ensure the wheelchair was properly secured and the straps were in proper working order.
Annapolis operates two red-light cameras: one at Chinquapin Round Road and Aris T. Allen Boulevard, and one at Forest Drive and Hilltop Lane.
The county operates five red-light cameras:
Northbound Riva Road and Aris T. Allen Boulevard in Parole.
Southbound Route 2 and College Parkway in Arnold.
Southbound Route 2 and Arnold Road in Arnold.
Southbound Route 2 and Route 10 in Pasadena.
Southbound Route 3 and Johns Hopkins Road in Crofton.
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