Public Entity Panel: Identifying Challenges and Finding Solutions

This session at RIMS 2026 dove into some of the biggest risk challenges public entities face and how to work through them. Speakers included:

• Billy Deeb – Director of Public Entities, Aon
• Rob Roscoe – Deputy Director, Washington Cities Insurance Authority
• Tyrone Spears – Chief – Workers’ Compensation Division, City of Los Angeles Personnel Department
• Mark Walls – Chief Marketing Officer, Safety National

Q: What law enforcement liability trends are you experiencing?

Tyrone: This topic is an everyday conversation. It is becoming unsustainable with massive lawsuits, some of which are the result of previous civil unrest events. There are daily police pursuits in L.A. and there are considerations to be made for property damage and potentially, lost lives. Unfortunately loss of life has happened, and it has evolved into multimillion dollar claims. It impacts our overall city budget with every department impacted.

Rob: We insure close to 95 police agencies all throughout Washington state. We are experiencing more state actions with expanded negligence claims. We might think it is defendable, but then if someone was subsequently harmed in the process, it becomes a different situation. We may believe we have good facts and reason, but empathy can sway a jury, so we will usually try to settle. Technology, like body cameras, can help provide real facts, which allow us more insight into a claim. At the end of the day, agencies have to hire people that can articulate and diffuse situations and leave their egos at the door. That can be hard for the older officers that are used to an authority style chain of command.

Q: Are you using social workers instead of law enforcement if the situation calls for it?

Tyrone: We just started this program in L.A. When someone is experiencing a mental health issue, a law enforcement officer showing up at their door can escalate a situation. I believe we will see the benefit of using mental health professionals with the right training to talk to these individuals in the long term.

Billy: Police are often going into antagonistic situations in a heightened state. Using a mental health professional can offer an alternative that fits well into a total cost of risk. These situations have made it more difficult to recruit law enforcement. When a municipality can be sued for responding or for failing to respond, what is the right call?

Q: Pennsylvania has the Tort Claims Act, in addition to sovereign immunity. Are there any legislative efforts in other jurisdictions?

Rob: I work for a risk pool as a public employee, and thus, am subject to the Public Records Act. In the eyes of the public, we are the problem. We have our members discuss the impact of this issue to their local representatives, including how it hits funds necessary for roads and infrastructure. Unfortunately, in Washington state, the plaintiff’s bar heavily contributes to funding legislature. We face an uphill battle, where it is difficult to add common sense to our legal system. We pay for a lobbyist who confirms we’re not going to get anywhere.

Billy: We face the same issue in California. I handle clients across the U.S. who do have tort caps, and their concern is when the tort cap is breached. Kentucky had tort caps and the Breonna Taylor case breached it, and since then nine claims have breached it. The plaintiff’s bar is constantly trying to erode these caps.

Q: Are you experiencing claims related to road design?

Rob: We had a crosswalk claim, where a 15 year old was skateboarding, disregarded the signal, and went into a crosswalk. The plaintiff claimed we should have designed the crosswalk differently. We lost, with the city found at fault for 70%. We attained an appeal, took it to court again, and then the city was found  30% at fault. We even tried to explain that the individual was high, but then the court did not like us victim blaming.

Billy: Similarly, we had an individual texting while walking through a crosswalk. A car came around the corner, and the sun was blocking the driver’s vision. The driver hit the pedestrian, and they died. City was found 10% liable and responsible for a $10 million verdict.

Q: How are you funding infrastructure or climate resilience with strained budgets?

Rob: We offer grants to our members for sidewalk improvements since we have a lot of claims for sidewalk injuries. The trees in Washington state cause root upheaval and damage sidewalks. By showing our members infrastructure data on claims and where they can make improvements, they know these claims can be avoided.

Tyrone: Our city is proactive with wildfire management. We are a full-service city, where we trim our own trees and fix our own pavement. Since the devastating wildfires in Palisades, there is often media attention to clear brush. We are even developing a policy to address brush on the homeowner-level. We will send surveyors and auditors who will fine someone if it is not cleared out.

Q; How does a climate-related event turn into a liability claim?

Tyrone: It is joint liability, where the city is at fault for anything they did or did not do. Did you turn off the power in high-risk conditions? Were there enough firefighters? There is only so much you can do with 60-70 mph winds adding to it, but it does not matter to a jury. They are going to go with public perception.

Billy: One of my clients had a hillside in their district that was constantly getting complaints as a potential fire risk due to uncleared brush. However, it was not in their control. It was the responsibility of the Department of Forestry, who claimed they had abandoned management of it. The county went in to clean it up, sparked a fire, destroyed homes, and then faced a $400 million lawsuit.

Rob: In Washington, we had atmospheric weather conditions recently. While property damage was limited, there were levies that failed, which became a failure-to-maintain issue.

Q: Any advice for municipalities that are switching to electric options, like vehicles and lawn mowers?

Rob: Keep in mind that these vehicles are very difficult to repair, and they are usually a total loss when damaged.

Billy: Be aware of the concentration of risks that can come with parking several of these vehicles close together. It makes it difficult to isolate and contain a fire if one were to break out. Parking them further apart can help minimize the damage.

Q: From a third-party liability perspective, what are considerations for the installation of EV chargers?

Billy: Risk transfer is always the best idea, using a neutral, third-party location for install. Convenience may be an issue, as  municipalities want to charge on site. However, you may be able to transfer risk contractually if it is a third party installation. In those instances, they may also be placed together with more convenient access.

Q: How are you managing risk around AI and AI governance?

Billy: We have a tool that evaluates the posture of the entity by evaluating backups, redundancy models, encryption, and password protected sites, allowing us to know the securities they have in place. Initially, public entities did not seem to have the strength of private sectors, but that has since improved.