K-Romulus
Member
Well, here is one for the record books the next time you hear "that never happens."
"Loss of earning ability?" and "Diminished quality of life?" ROFL
http://www.gazetteextra.com/prochaska092606.asp
Photo of the poor victim:
"Loss of earning ability?" and "Diminished quality of life?" ROFL
http://www.gazetteextra.com/prochaska092606.asp
Doc sued for shooting intruder
(Published Tuesday, September 26, 2006 11:29:12 AM CDT)
By Mike DuPre'
Gazette Staff
The man shot by a Janesville doctor in what authorities think was a burglary of the doctor's home has sued the doctor for negligently using excessive force.
Kurt Prochaska, 39, Janesville, still is awaiting trial on charges of burglary and felony criminal damage because of events late on the night of Oct. 31, 2005, when, police reported, he crashed through the ceiling of Michael Rainiero's home, 2520 Linden Ave., Janesville, in an attempt to burglarize the home.
Prochaska is now in state Department of Corrections' custody because his probation for earlier crimes was revoked.
His lawsuit does not specify an amount for damages.
In the suit filed in August in Milwaukee County, Prochaska admits being in Rainiero's home when he was shot once by Rainiero. But Prochaska claims in the suit:
"Rainiero then returned to his bedroom, retrieved a handgun from the closet, released the trigger lock, he then called out to his wife to call 911, whereupon he then returned to the hallway, his hands were shaking badly, he knelt down, yelled at the intruder to leave, in a split second he decided to fire the weapon towards the subject because he wanted him to leave.
"Rainiero negligently fired a shot and accidentally hit the plaintiff in the back, severing the plaintiff's spinal cord."
The lawsuit alleges Rainiero's negligent use of excessive force "in dealing with the intruder/plaintiff" harmed Prochaska by causing "severe and permanent injuries, severe and relentless pain" and medical expenses, loss of earning ability and diminished quality of life.
In his response to the suit, Rainiero, a surgeon in Dean Health System, denies any negligence or using excessive force. Rainiero maintains that he was exercising his right to defend himself and his family.
He also asked that the suit be tried in front of a jury in Rock County, where the incident happened and all the involved parties live, rather than in Milwaukee County, where the suit was filed.
Four days after the shooting, Rock County District Attorney David O'Leary said he would not charge Rainiero in the incident because the doctor had acted in self-defense.
"His actions were justified and reasonable," the district attorney said. "Not only was Dr. Rainiero entitled to defend himself, he was entitled to defend his family.
"Dr. Rainiero had no reasonable opportunity to retreat as the intruder was not complying with Dr. Rainiero's repeated demands to leave the residence and was still inside the residence with Dr. Rainiero's family," O'Leary said.
Attempts to reach attorneys for Rainiero and Prochaska were unsuccessful Monday afternoon.
According to police reports, Rainiero said that after he was awakened, perhaps by his dog's barking, he saw a man in a hallway in his home and then saw the intruder duck into a bathroom.
Rainiero told a detective that he yelled at the intruder to leave even when he couldn't see the man because the intruder was still in the bathroom and that he repeatedly yelled at the intruder to leave after the man returned to the hallway.
"He stated he yelled at him to get out and the subject did not respond verbally, but he also did not head towards the door," the detective wrote. "He stated that he kept yelling at him to get out and the subject did not appear to be listening to him.
"He stated that his fear was growing and he was concerned that the intruder was going to move into even a darker section of the house and therefore become even more dangerous.
"He stated that in that split second he decided he needed to fire the weapon," the detective reported.
Neighbors told police that they heard a male voice yell, "Get out" several times.
At home with Rainiero were his wife and three children.
A roof vent had been removed from Rainiero's house, and it appeared the intruder had dropped through the hole left by the vent and crashed through the plaster ceiling beneath the roof, police reported.
Two Janesville firefighters told police that Prochaska had full use of his limbs and struggled with them in the ambulance.
An emergency room doctor at Mercy Hospital in Janesville told police that Prochaska "suffered some injury to his spinal cord as a result of the bullet entering near his spine," according to police reports.
Another detective reported that when he spoke with Prochaska's wife, Julie Prochaska, three days after the shooting that Julie told him that the doctor had no right to shoot at her husband and that she intended to sue the doctor.
Police also reported that a nurse at University Hospital in Madison, where Prochaska also was transferred, said 10 days after the shooting that Prochaska had feeling in his legs but was having trouble standing on his own.
Photo of the poor victim:
