Officer's widow relived nightmare in wrongful death trial

As she drove home from the courthouse last week, Lara Guerrero stopped to lay fresh Valentine's Day flowers at a roadside marker where her husband was killed nearly four years ago.

"No amount of money can ever bring him back," she said Monday. "He was my best friend, and I will always have a hole in my heart."

But she said the $7 million verdict awarded Friday by a Pasco County jury in her wrongful death lawsuit would bring vindication to Victor's memory. It is the largest jury award ever against Pasco County.

"My husband got justice," Lara Guerrero said.

Master Patrol Officer Victor Guerrero, 47, a 20-year Tampa police veteran, was killed on May 1, 2008, after a county employee turned his county-issued Ford Ranger pickup into the off-duty officer's path as Guerrero rode his new Harley-Davidson motorcycle south on U.S. 41 about a mile north of Growers Corner.

Daniel Whipple, who works for the county's engineering department, told bystanders he never saw the motorcycle. He gave the same account during testimony in the week-long trial.

"Last week definitely was a nightmare," Guerrero said. "For the last three, going on four years I've been reliving my husband's death over and over and over. To face the man who killed him … I can't even begin to put into words how it felt."

The record-breaking judgment was a surprise, even to Guerrero's attorneys, who had asked for $5.1 million.

"We had asked for less, so we were very pleased when the jury came back with a question during deliberations. They wanted to know if there was a cap on the damages they could award," attorney Scott Lazar said. "We're extremely pleased with the verdict. The family is grateful to the jury for understanding their loss and for understanding how the system works and is designed to work."

Lazar said the family had offered to settle the case with the county for $2 million – the maximum amount covered by the county's insurance policy, but the county elected to go to trial.

County Attorney Jeffrey Steinsnyder had no comment on the verdict.

County Commission Chairwoman Ann Hildebrand said Steinsnyder called her Friday evening to inform her of the verdict. "Obviously Jeff and (Assistant County Attorney Anthony Saldano) will be looking at what they're going to do," she said.

The county has 30 days to file an appeal.

The judgment included $1 million for Victor Guerrero's lost wages. The jury awarded $1.5 million to Lara Guerrero and $1.75 million to each of Victor Guerrero's three sons, Michael, David and Kevin, for pain and suffering. The total judgment came to $7.85 million, but the jury reduced it by 10 percent.

"They found that Victor was 10 percent responsible because he wasn't wearing a helmet – even though he's not required by law to wear a helmet," Lazar said.

Whipple is still employed by Pasco County.

"I wanted that man to see the pain he caused my family," Lara Guerrero said. "Daniel Whipple went home that day to his family, and I went home to the quietest house you've ever heard – except for my tears and my children's tears. He took away so much from my kids, and from Victor's kids. I would give all the money in the world to have my husband back. That kind of pain never goes away."

After the accident, Lara Guerrero moved to Ocala to be closer to her parents. But she still drives to Land O'Lakes every few weeks to put fresh flowers at the crash site. She decorates it for holidays – Christmas was Victor's favorite.

"His last words to me were 'I love you, baby. I can't wait to see you,'" she said.

It could be years before the family sees any of the money.

"This amount exceeds the county's insurance coverage," Lazar said. "There are different avenues to proceed to try to collect it. Filing a claims bill with the Legislature is one way."

By law, the state, counties, municipalities and certain other agencies hold sovereign immunity from lawsuits. The law allows for recovery of up to $200,000 if there is wrongdoing on the government's part, but anything beyond those numbers requires an act of the Legislature: It must literally pass a law calling for the money to be paid.

Those bills can take years, sometimes even decades, to win approval. Jane Calano, the county's risk manager, said there has never been a claims bill filed against Pasco County. Claims bills to collect judgments against the Pasco County School District and the Pasco County Sheriff's Office were filed this session.