Now Habersham has learned that the City of Cornelia’s insurance company is in final negotiations for a legal settlement with the family of Bounkham Phonesavanh. The news comes just one month after Habersham County announced a $1 million settlement in the case.
Phonesavanh, now two years old, is still recovering from burns and lacerations to his face and chest suffered when a a flash grenade was thrown into a house on Lakeview Heights Circle in Cornelia one year ago this week. Officers from a regional drug task force were executing a no-knock search warrant at the time.
In February, Phonesavanh’s parents filed suit against the City of Cornelia and all the other local governments involved with the Regional Narcotics Investigation and Suppression team.
The fine details of the proposed settlement with the City of Cornelia are still being negotiated. “The settlement has not yet been finalized,” City Manager Donald Anderson said by email, “so there is no information to be released at this time.” Cornelia City Attorney Steve Campbell said he could not comment on the details of the ongoing settlement talks.
Any settlement would be paid by the city’s insurance company but just how much that final amount will be is not yet known. The city gets its general liability insurance coverage through the Georgia Interlocal Risk Management Agency (GIRMA) from the Georgia Municipal Association.
Any money the child gets from Cornelia will be in addition to the nearly $1 million paid out by Habersham County’s insurance company. County Commissioners announced last month that their insurer, National Fire, would pay $964,000 to the Phonesavanhs with an additional $36,000 going to the owner of the home, Amanda Thonetheva, for damages to the house caused by the raid. In exchange for the money, the Phonesavanhs agreed not to sue for the personal assets of individual officers or elected officials.
Click Here for Details of the Habersham County Phonesavanh Settlement
In addition to Cornelia, the Phonesavanhs still have lawsuits pending against Stephens County and Rabun County owing to their involvement with the regional drug task force.
