A Missouri state police officer was injured in a car accident when a suspect, who was fleeing from authorities, crashed into his cruiser. The police officer’s injuries were not considered life threatening.
Car Accident Injures State Trooper
The accident happened in northeastern Kansas City, 50 miles southeast of St. Joseph, on Friday, November 11, 2016.
A suspect had stolen a car in the town of Excelsior Springs in the early afternoon. Police from Clay County started to chase the vehicle just before 1pm, following it westward along Route 69. The Clay County police requested help from Missouri State Police as the chase continued onto Interstate 35 near the town of Liberty. Several officers with the state police set up to join the highway chase near the intersection of Routes 69 and 152. However, the fleeing car came off the exit ramp, instead, driving right into the troop of state police cruisers. The car collided with one of the cruisers, ending the chase with the suspect’s arrest.
The state police officer who was involved in the crash suffered non-life-threatening injuries. He was reported to have been walking after the incident before emergency responders could reach the scene.
Personal Injuries and Police Officers
If you suffer a personal injury, you can get compensation for your pain, suffering, and loss if you can show four things:
- The person who hurt you had a responsibility to keep you safe
- That person didn’t follow through on their responsibility
- Because they didn’t follow through on their responsibility, you were hurt, and
- You were, in fact, injured
However, emergency responders like firefighters or police officers are treated differently. If hurt while dealing with an emergency, professional emergency responders can’t recover anything in a personal injury lawsuit unless they also show that their injury was not caused recklessly or intentionally.
Known as the “firefighter’s rule,” this recognizes the fact that dangerous situations are a known and accepted part of the job for emergency responders like police officers and firefighters. It also recognizes that, if injured emergency personnel could sue the person who started a dangerous situation, people would be less likely to dial 911.
Together, these reasons make it more difficult for emergency personnel, like this state trooper who was hurt by the fleeing car, to successfully sue to get compensation for their injuries.
Personal Injury and Car Accident Attorneys at Smith Law
When you get hurt because someone else was negligent or wasn’t paying attention, like in a car accident, it can feel very unfair. Through no fault of your own, you now have to deal with a long road to recovery, as well as significant medical bills. A personal injury lawsuit can be the best way to ensuring that you get the compensation that you deserve from the people ultimately responsible for your injuries.
If you’ve been hurt in a car accident in St. Joseph, Kansas City, or elsewhere in western Missouri, contact the personal injury attorneys at the Smith Law Office online or at (816) 875-9373.