Missouri Supreme Court finds Mercy not liable for negligence in 2015 parking lot shooting
Mercy Hospital in Joplin was not liable for negligence after a man was shot in the hospital’s parking lot in December of 2015.
With a 4-2 vote, the Missouri Supreme Court Tuesday reversed the circuit court’s judgment and remands (sends back) the case after Mercy appealed the lower court ruling.
The court says there was insufficient evidence to support a finding that the hospital knew or had reason to know, prior to the shooting, that the woman who shot the man was dangerous.
The incident took place when Steve Harner was walking back to his vehicle after visiting his daughter in the ER. As he walked up to his car, he found a woman, Kaylea Liska, inside his vehicle. A scuffle then ensued in which the Liska shot Harner in his neck with a gun she found in his console.
Harner survived his injuries and later sued Mercy for negligence but Mercy asserted it could not be held liable for criminal acts for the criminal acts of third persons, which are generally unforeseeable.
According to the court, the issue arose because before shooting Harner, Liska was high on meth and got into a stranger’s vehicle while they too were in the emergency room.
When the couple got to their vehicle, they saw Liska and told her she was in the wrong vehicle. She fled and the couple returned to the hospital to report the incident, and a security guard was called.
Joplin Police also arrived to investigate and the incident was entered into Mercy Hospital’s security system as a “Priority 2.” Surveillance video of the parking lot showed the woman enter and exit the couple’s vehicle as well as entering Harner’s vehicle.
The surveillance video also showed the security vehicle was not performing mobile rounds of the parking lot from 8 to 8:30 p.m. the night of the incident, in violation of Mercy’s Hospital’s security policies.
Click the documents below to learn more about the shooting:
courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=203718
In 2017, Liska entered an Alford Plea regarding the incident.
