Negligence by Emergency Vehicles

Under Georgia law, the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle, including a law enforcement vehicle, when responding to an emergency call, has certain privileges that are not available to other drivers. As an example, the authorized emergency vehicle operator may proceed past a red or stop signal and exceed the maximum speed limits posted so long as he or she does not endanger life or property. The authorized emergency vehicle may also disregard regulations governing direction of movement or turning in specified directions. The exceptions for authorized emergency vehicles only apply, however, when the emergency vehicle is making use of an audible signal and use of flashing and revolving lights visible for a distance of 500 feet. Thus, fire trucks, ambulances and police officers are excepted from normal statutory provisions governing the movement of their vehicles provided they have their siren and lights operating at the time. However, even if lights and sirens are being used, the foregoing provisions “shall not relieve the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle from the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons.” See O.C.G.A. § 40-6-6(d)(1).
There is no inherent right of an emergency vehicle operator to disregard the law. If it is unsafe to do so and an ambulance driver or fire truck proceeds through an intersection without slowing down, this can be negligence which is actionable under Georgia law. While the facts of each case are obviously different, even authorized emergency vehicles must exercise “due regard” for the safety of the public. If they operate their emergency vehicles in a manner which is clearly dangerous, the governmental entity can be held liable under Georgia law. Nonetheless, sovereign immunity is always a problem in these cases. If the officer was truly responding to an emergency and was exercising due regard for the safety of the public, sovereign immunity will work to defend the government against civil claims arising from an unfortunate collision that occurs during the authorized use of an emergency vehicle.
We have seen many cases where innocent third parties were caught up in collisions with emergency vehicles. We have seen these with ambulance drivers, police vehicles and fire trucks. Eyewitness testimony concerning whether lights and sirens were being used and/or whether the operator of the vehicle was exercising due regard for the safety of the public is key to investigating these cases. Because every case is factually specific and because the doctrine of sovereign immunity is always an issue in these cases, any victim of such a collision should confer with counsel as soon as possible.