Spence Law Firm, LLC: Victim of Iowa Police Car Collision Awarded $13.6 Million

JACKSON, Wyo., March 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- A Black Hawk County, Iowa jury found the city of Waterloo liable in a 2008 police car collision that left 22-year-old Jarvis Boggs paralyzed and needing lifelong medical care, The Spence Law Firm LLC said today.

Jurors returned a $13.6 million verdict for Mr. Boggs on Wednesday after 11 days of testimony and a day of deliberation.

Spence Law Firm partners Mel C. Orchard, III and G. Bryan Ulmer, of Jackson, Wyo., tried the case to verdict. Mr. Boggs also is represented by Thomas P. Frerichs, of Frerichs, Law Office, P.C., of Waterloo, and John J. Rausch of The Rausch Law Firm, PLLC, of Waterloo.

The lawsuit alleged that a Waterloo police officer sped through a red light – without emergency lights or siren on – and collided with Mr. Boggs' vehicle at around 12:45 a.m. on Dec. 31, 2008. The officer was accused of reaching a speed of 61 miles per hour in a 35-mile-per-hour zone before the collision. City officials denied responsibility for the crash, claiming Mr. Boggs was speeding and had alcohol and marijuana in his system. Mr. Boggs' legal team relied on forensic analysis of the police car "black box" data.

Mr. Orchard said, "This verdict helps move Jarvis and his dedicated mother closer to getting the health care he needs. The jurors validated Jarvis' four-year pursuit of justice against local government officials willing to blame him and cast him aside. The penalties for the mistakes Jarvis made do not include a lifetime of paralysis caused by a police officer's recklessness."

Mr. Ulmer said, "The trial exposed the truth of a crash that cost Jarvis his physical freedom. The jurors saw that a police officer running a red light without lights and sirens caused this crash. We hope city leaders in Waterloo and elsewhere will take a hard look at the unacceptably large number of police car collisions around the nation that injure and kill innocent citizens."

The verdict includes $12.1 million for future medical expenses, $554,313 for past medical expenses and $250,000 each for past pain and suffering, future pain and suffering, past loss of full mind and body, and future loss of full mind and body. The award will be reduced to $10.2 million because jurors found Mr. Boggs to be 25 percent at fault.

The case is "Jarvis Lee Boggs v. City of Waterloo, et al.," No. LACV114658 in the Iowa District Court of Black Hawk County.

Attorney Contacts: Mel C. Orchard, III and G. Bryan Ulmer, The Spence Law Firm, LLC, 15 South Jackson Street, Jackson, Wyoming 83001, 307.733.7290, and www.spencelawyers.com.

Media Contact: Erin Powers, Powers MediaWorks LLC, for The Spence Law Firm, 281.703.6000, [email protected].

SOURCE The Spence Law Firm, LLC