The city will pay $14,090 to cover the medical costs of a volunteer police chaplain who had a car accident in a city vehicle after taking a sleeping pill.
The City Council voted Feb. 27 to approve the claim for Barbara Hugo.
According to a Feb. 11 memo from Assistant City Attorney Timothy Skarda:
Hugo was on-call Aug. 6 and was dispatched to a call at 10:30 p.m. She responded, forgetting she had taken a sleeping pill earlier that evening. While driving a city vehicle -- one
she was authorized to use -- she fell asleep and hit the median near I-35W and the 76th Street ramp.
She suffered a pelvic fracture and was hospitalized for three days.
Workers' compensation denied her claim because she violated the city's drug policy. The state's no-fault insurance laws entitle her to compensation, up to $20,000 for medical expenses and $20,000 for present and future income loss.
Volunteer Police Department chaplains provide 24-hour counseling services for citizens and Police Department personnel and their families.
