ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, May 28, 1996 TAG: 9605280084
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: S.D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
If Carolyn Anderson crashed her car into a government or emergency vehicle, she said her insurance company would have to cover it.
But when the tables were turned on her this month, she didn't get a dime.
Anderson calls it unfair. Salem calls it government immunity.
And any government in the state can use it against liability claims if the accident happens while the government is providing a legitimate service to its residents.
Anderson and her husband, who live in Roanoke County, went to their daughter's graduation ceremony at Roanoke College three weeks ago. Because of overcrowding, the college parallel-parked their car near the entrance to the lot behind the college's library.
When they returned, the right side of their white 1995 Grand Prix had been damaged. On the windshield was a note from a Salem police officer, who said the car had been hit by a fire truck.
According to a police report, emergency crews were dispatched to the college during the commencement ceremony in response to a 911 call about a possible heart attack. Firefighters arrived first.
The call turned out to be a false alarm. But on the way out of the crowded parking lot, the fire truck sideswiped the Andersons' car, knocking off a lower right panel and inflicting other minor damage.
Carolyn Anderson called the Police Department the next week to get the city's liability insurance to pay for repairs. They couldn't help her. Then she called City Manager Randy Smith's office.
Eventually, she got a call from Salem insurance agent Frank Chapman, who acts as a liaison between the city and the ITT Hartford Group, the company that holds most of the city's insurance policies.
Chapman told her the city was not liable because the accident occurred while the the truck was providing a governmental service.
Last week, Anderson got a letter from a Hartford insurance adjuster who confirmed that, saying the fire crew was on an emergency call.
"The damage is not that great. It's just the principle of the whole thing," Anderson said. She said a body repair shop estimated it will cost a little less than $400 to fix.
"This government immunity thing - I don't think it's right. I don't think it's fair," she said.
Whether it's fair or not, government officials justify the practice, saying it saves taxpayers' money.
"As sympathetic as the city can be with their plight ... you'd have a hard time handing over public money if you're not legally responsible," said Stephen Yost, attorney for the City of Salem.
Chapman said that if a city or county did pay for an accident involving an emergency vehicle, for example, a precedent would be set. The next time there was a similar claim, the locality would have a difficult time refusing it.
"It's a bad pill to swallow," City Manager Smith said. "It's one of the most difficult things that I've had to deal with from an insurance standpoint."
Exactly what liability a government is immune from is defined differently for the state, counties and cities.
The Virginia Code gives the state and counties immunity against claims for any service they provide.
For cities, the lines are less clear. Immunity rights for cities have been shaped by years of case law.
Since a 1993 court ruling in Albemarle County, damage done by snow removal crews has been immune to claims. When nearly two feet of snow fell in January, Salem and Roanoke snow plows did minor damage to several cars parked in the streets.
But, as long as the snow plow drivers did nothing illegal, neither city was liable.
Smith said Salem couldn't have paid those people if they wanted to. ITT Hartford wouldn't cover it.
"They were not going to set a precedent and pay those claims," he said.
Roanoke has had 36 liability claims from residents since the January snowstorms, said Michelle Bono, the city's public information officer. They include both vehicle and personal property damage.
Roanoke's risk manager handled the claims on a case-by-case basis, Bono said. The city paid part of 14 of them. Others were either denied or dropped by the resident.
Sometimes the person making the claim was willing to have his or her own insurance cover it, Bono said.
Roanoke County, which is self-insured, authorizes its risk manager to pay claims in certain cases and up to a certain amount, said Paul Mahoney, attorney for Roanoke County.
"There are areas where we realize some harm has occurred to a citizen," Mahoney said. "But in other areas, we would defend on the basis of government immunity."
Anderson said she has gone to every level possible to try and get her car paid for by Salem.
She and her husband are already paying $1,200 for insurance premiums on three vehicles. And she is worried that will go up again.
"I will go to the highest authority if I have to," Anderson said. "But I am not giving up."
LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY STAFF Carolyn and William Anderson's car wasby CNBdamaged by a fire truck leaving the parking lot where their car was
parked for their daughter's graduation. The city claims it is not
responsible for the damages.