A jury found several prison guards guilty of negligence after a prison inmate murdered another inmate aboard a state prison bus in 2005 and the guards on board did little to prevent the attack or to provide first aid following the assault. Three correctional officers were found guilty of security negligence while a fourth was found to be grossly negligent during the attack. The family of the man who was killed has been awarded $18.5 million for their pain and suffering as a result of this wrongful death case.
Because the correctional officers are state employees, the state will cover $200,000 of their financial obligation each. However, the man found guilty of gross negligence will not be supported by the state at all. The defense attorney for the men has stated that none of the correctional officers are capable of paying the multi-million dollar award, and it is suspected that the attorney general will file post-trial motions.
The correctional officer who was found guilty of gross negligence was the officer in charge on the bus. A fifth correctional officer who was aboard the bus during the incident was not found to be negligent in this case.
Anytime people have suffered as a result of negligent security, they should contact a Broward County security negligence attorney from our law office immediately. Our Broward County personal injury lawyers have worked on these types of cases for multiple clients and can be of assistance.