Published Wednesday, February 10, 2010

$725,000 settlement reached in suit over fatal tire explosion

By Sarah Fay Campbell

The Newnan Times-Herald

On Aug. 11, 2003, Terry Rhodes, an inmate at the Coweta County Prison, was killed when the tractor tire he was changing exploded.

On Monday, attorneys for Rhodes' son, and Coweta County's insurance carrier, came to a settlement in the wrongful death case against Coweta County.

The insurance company will pay $725,000 to Rhodes' son, who is now 20 and a Marine stationed at Camp LeJune, N.C.

Rhodes' family filed the suit, contending that Coweta County failed to provide proper safety equipment and training.

"Had the county had a tire cage large enough for a tractor tire, Mr. Rhodes would not have had a scratch on him when the explosion occurred," said John Sherrod, attorney for Rhodes' family.

Such "cages" are required by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, Sherrod said. However, prisons don't have to conform to OSHA regulations.

Since Rhodes' death, "they bought cages large enough to fit a tractor tire," Sherrod said. "They are required to be used per the warden."

Sherrod said Rhodes' family is grateful the change was made.

When the wrongful death case was filed, Coweta County claimed sovereign immunity, Sherrod said.

Georgia counties have sovereign immunity against claims, but that immunity is waived when a government has insurance.

Coweta County, of course, has various insurance policies, but "the county took the position that there was no insurance on this particular tractor that Mr. Rhodes was working on at the time of his death," Sherrod said.

Coweta State Court Judge Seay Van Patten Poulakos ruled in Coweta's favor on May 19, 2008, saying that there was no insurance, Sherrod said.

Sherrod appealed, and on July 6, the Georgia Court of Appeals overturned Poulakos' ruling.

"We felt like there were these big blanket polices that cover a lot of equipment at the county," Sherrod said. "We found a policy that said it would cover the vehicles of the county."

The case came down "to a very minute legal issue -- did this tractor come within the coverage of a particular policy?" Sherrod said. The policy deals with "whether it was a vehicle suitable for driving on the roadway," he said. The tractor that Rhodes was working on was one that county crews used to mow grass on rights-of-way.

With the ruling that Coweta did not have immunity, the case then moved forward on its own merits.

Sherrod said that when attorneys for Coweta's insurance carrier deposed his expert on safety issues, the expert "testified that it was unsafe to let these guys change these tires without safety cages."

"I think that once he testified about the safety problems and lack of training," there was an interest in settling the case, Sherrod said. Coweta County did have some issues that it could have raised at trial, Sherrod said. "I am representing an inmate who was a very experienced mechanic ... there are issues the county was going to raise that he may have partially been responsible for his own death," Sherrod said. A jury could "reduce the amount of the award under contributory negligence."

A mediation meeting was held Monday and "we agreed on the settlement," Sherrod said.

Though Coweta had challenged its liability in the case, the county did pay for the bulk of Rhodes' funeral expenses, Sherrod said.

"It's a very, very sad case. It was a brutal way to die," Sherrod said.

"The best part of my case is who I was representing -- a 20-year-old Marine who didn't know his father that well. He was a great client to get civil justice for," Sherrod said.

The settlement will be structured so that Rhodes' son will get the money over time. "The main thing is the settlement will be structured so this young man's life will be taken care of," Sherrod said.

"It will change his and his young bride's life forever. It's a great day for them."

Representatives from Coweta County were asked about changes that had been made in procedures -- including the tire barriers -- since Rhodes' death, but that information was not available Tuesday afternoon.