Turner v. Lyons

Emma Turner (plaintiff) was crossing the street when she was struck by a police car being driven by New Orleans police officer Michael Lyons (defendant). Turner suffered two broken legs and a broken arm in the accident, and she also suffered a heart attack later that night. Turner sued Lyons and the City of New Orleans (defendants) to recover for her injuries. Turner died from heart complications a few months after filing her lawsuit. Turner’s six children (plaintiffs) became substitute plaintiffs in Turner’s action and brought a wrongful-death action against Lyons and the city. At a bench trial, Turner’s children presented testimony from Dr. Frank Griffith, an accident-reconstruction expert. Griffith testified that he based his opinion about the accident on the accident report, an internal New Orleans Police Department report, Lyons’s deposition, the deposition of a forensic pathologist, Lyons’s trial testimony, the specifications of the type of police car Lyons had been driving, traffic regulations, and a textbook and videos on pedestrian-accident reconstructions. Griffith further testified that he visited the scene of the accident and took measurements and photographs. After hearing the evidence in the case, the trial court found Lyons 100 percent at fault for the accident and awarded damages to Turner’s children. Lyons and the city appealed to the Louisiana Court of Appeal, asserting that Griffith’s opinion testimony was inadmissible because the accident report and internal police report reviewed by Griffith were inadmissible hearsay.