It's Unusual, But Family Picks Change Over Money

Gertrude Pruckmayr, with son, Gregory Pruckmayr, filed a suit against the District after her daughter, Bettina Pruckmayr, was killed in 1995 by a convicted murderer out on parole. It called for an investigation, not money. (By Rick Bowmer -- The Washington Post)

When a government failure leads to injury or death, there is no shortage of lawyers willing to seek millions of dollars in damages on behalf of the victims or their survivors.

The family of David E. Rosenbaum, the slain New York Times reporter, took a different tack, setting aside a $20 million lawsuit in favor of a promise from the District to repair its emergency services agency.

Although the family has not dropped its claim against Howard University Hospital, the Rosenbaums' decision to seek a cure for society over personal enrichment is a tactic that is very rare, though not without precedent, lawyers and judges said.

Gregory Mize, a retired D.C. Superior Court judge who heard hundreds of civil suits in his career, said he could not recall presiding over a case in which a plaintiff had not sought monetary damages.

"It flies in the face of convention," said Mize, a judicial fellow with the National Center for State Courts. "Our legal culture thinks in terms of personal injuries -- you can't roll back the tape and make an injury go away. Money is the best way we have in the justice system to compensate people."

Mize called the Rosenbaums' decision "remarkable."

Peter Grenier, a personal injury lawyer who has won millions of dollars for clients suing governments, including the District, said he has never brought a case against an agency that did not involve a monetary claim.

His clients have included the family of Eric Butera, a District police informant who was killed in 1997 while buying drugs undercover. Butera's mother, Terry, won about $1.3 million.

The threat of financial loss, Grenier said, can force government reform. "Until their governmental feet are held to the fire where they face serious monetary liability, they're going to be generally very sluggish about bringing about change," he said.

In the case of the Rosenbaums, Grenier lauded the family "for doing something for the greater good." But he said he remains skeptical that the District government "will meet its obligation."

"I hope they prove me wrong, but in my experience, the District of Columbia is beyond embarrassment," he said. "It amazes me."

Rosenbaum, 63, was killed 14 months ago after robbers beat him over the head with a metal pipe near his Northwest Washington home. When D.C. firefighters and emergency service workers found him, they mistakenly treated him as a drunk, failing to recognize his head wound.