Kenyan in US wins Sh317m damages

By ANTONY KARANJA tgkaranja@gmail.com

Posted  Thursday, April 11  2013 at  21:30

IN SUMMARY

• The lawsuit was filed by Mr David Macharia, who claimed police in Revere showed poor judgment that led him to render himself permanently brain-damaged while in their custody.

DALLAS, Texas

A Kenyan man in the US will receive $3.75 million (Sh317 million) in damages after the conclusion of a four-year lawsuit.

The payment will be made by the City of Revere and an Emergency Department physician, both of Massachusetts.

The lawsuit was filed by Mr David Macharia, who claimed police in Revere showed poor judgment that led him to render himself permanently brain-damaged while in their custody.

Mr Macharia, 33, had alleged in his suit that the Revere police had no written policies regarding suicide prevention of inmates. He was arrested by police in Revere over assault of his wife.

The court heard how a number of police officers failed to exercise due diligence when handling a suicidal man.

Last week, the city settled with Mr Macharia for $1.75 million (Sh148 million) in front of a jury in Boston’s Federal Court.

Earlier at the start of the trial, Mr Macharia had settled with a physician at Whidden Hospital in Everett, Massachusetts, who attended to him while he was in police custody, for $2 million (Sh169 million).

He had initially demanded $9.99 million (Sh846 million)

Mr Macharia was represented by lawyer Austin Freeley, who built a compelling argument before the jury, forcing the city to settle the matter to prevent a more costly outcome.

The lawsuit named seven police officers — former chief Terence Reardon, Lt John Goodwin, Sgt John Nelson, Daryle Lamonica, Louis Larosa, Robert Impemba and Patrick Dusseault.

“The conduct of the municipality and its police officer defendants constitutes a deprivation of the civil rights of David Macharia as guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America,” read the complaint.

“Defendants Phyllis Chen, Jane Lynn Murphy, and AMN Healthcare and its staff also breached their duty of care toward David Macharia when they negligently and carelessly discharged David Macharia in a manner which resulted in his severe and permanent injuries.
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