Newark negligent in botched 911 kidnap-murder call, under malpractice legal standard

May 28, 2008 - Based on a legal standard often applied in medical malpractice cases, an Essex County jury decided that the city of Newark, N.J., should pay $4.1 million to the parents of a Seton Hall student who was killed by her ex-boyfriend because the Newark 911 emergency operator misled authorities with incorrect information during the kidnapping.

Relaying incorrect information to police authorities “increased the risk of death and harm” to 23-year-old Sohayla Massachi, according to the family’s lawsuit, as reported by the Associated Press.

“An increased risk,” the legal standard used in the trial, is generally reserved for medical malpractice cases, argued Newark city lawyers who plan to appeal the negligence award.

Proving negligence in this case and in other negligence cases, such as medical malpractice lawsuits, can win a fair verdict or settlement for the victim or a victim’s family. Anyone in such an unfortunate situation has every right to seek legal authority for protection.

Newark 911 operator failed victim

The victim was abducted May 10, 2000, in South Orange in front of Seton Hall University by ex-boyfriend Christopher Honrath, 24, of Westfield. He forcibly abducted her off the sidewalk and drove her to his apartment, where he shot her and killed himself.

According to the complaint, the mistakes of a certain Newark 911 operator led police to miss “any opportunity they would have had to save the young woman’s life.”

Among numerous missteps, the operator, Debony Venable, reportedly wrote that the kidnapper was driving a Chevrolet Blazer instead of a Plymouth Laser.

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