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Tony ZAVALAS as Personal Representative of the Estates of Carlos Alexander Rojano Perez Deceased and Marco Antonio Zavalas Rojano, Deceased Appellant
vs.
STATE OF OREGON by and through its DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, Respondent and Roger G. SMITH M.D., Defendant. Benjamin J. OLIVARES as Guardian ad litem for John L. Olivares and Benjamin Olivares Jr.; Benjamin J. Olivares and Maria Cruz Jiminez, Appellants v. STATE OF OREGON by and through its DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS Respondent and Roger G. SMITH M.D., Defendant
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Issues:
Drugs, probation, post-accident testing, public employee, negligence.
Case Summary:
A convicted drug user, placed on five years probation by the courts, lost control of her vehicle and struck a group of children walking along the shoulder of a roadway. Two of the children were killed in the fatal mishap. Authorities later learned that the motorist had confessed to her probation officer on three separate occasions that she continued to use heroin. The probation officer failed to report this information to the court. The driver posted a positive result for heroin in a post-accident drug test. The families of the two dead children file suit against the Oregon Department of Corrections.
Decision of lower jurisdiction:
The trial court granted the state's motion for a summary judgment on the grounds that the probation officer, as an agent of the court, was protected by judicial immunity. The plaintiffs now appeal.
Outcome:
The corrections department loses. On appeal, the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the case for additional action.