Meeks v. Broschinski

By Judge Humes J. Franklin, Jr.

In the case of Meeks v. Broschinski, Defendant, employee of the City of Staunton, Virginia’s emergency personnel,1 invokes the public duty doctrine as a defense to Plaintiff’s negligence claim against Defendant for his alleged failure to provide emergency medical services to Plaintiff following Defendant’s receipt of a 911 call reporting a suspected hit-and-run accident in Staunton, Virginia, on August 25, 2001. Whether the public duty doctrine shields Defendant from liability is a complicated matter that invokes both legal doctrines and public policy concerns.

Th…