A former Philadelphia police officer, left disabled after a minor accident while on duty, has been awarded a $1.3 million settlement.
Officer Kenneth McMillan, 42, was on a routine patrol in Center City on March 25, 2005. The 14-year veteran logged a visit to a recently robbed bank on 16th Street near John F. Kennedy Boulevard, then pulled into northbound traffic. As his cruiser's dome lights flashed, he came to a stop at a traffic light, said his attorney, Louis E. Slawe.
Jane Golden was driving a car owned by her father's company, China Outlet & Gourmet Garage. She bumped into the rear of McMillan's cruiser. She was not on a cellphone or otherwise distracted, Slawe said.
There was no damage to either vehicle. But the collision caused McMillan's body to be "twisted and thrown in unusual directions," according to court papers.
Golden was not injured. She was not cited for a motor-vehicle violation. And McMillan himself did not think he was badly injured.
"The impact was not a very major impact," Slawe said.
Not until he was checked out at Hahnemann University Hospital did the damage become apparent.
McMillan, an Army veteran who served in the Persian Gulf, was temporarily blinded in his right eye by the accident. His right arm had sustained nerve damage, Slawe said.
His eyesight returned, but the injury to his ulnar nerve made it impossible for him to hold and fire his service weapon, Slawe said. McMillan's career as a police officer was over.
McMillan's suit, filed in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court against Golden, her father, and her father's business, was settled July 19 by a mediator.
Slawe said it was not uncommon for police cars with flashing lights to be hit by drivers.
"I represent a lot of police officers," Slawe said. "People who are driving a car drive in the direction they're looking. When their attention is drawn to the lights, their attention is focused there. That's when the accidents occur."
