Fallen deputy's family relieved after Fort Bend Co. ruling

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- It was a day of relief for the Norsworthy family, as a judge in Fort Bend County ruled in their favor.

It goes back to 2010. Former Deputy J.D. Norsworthy was on a call. There was debris in the road that caused him to crash. He later died.

The county paid $300,000 to the Norsworthy family to cover medical expenses and other costs.

In the meantime, the Norsworthy sued the private company that dropped the debris in the road, and they received a settlement.

After that, the county wanted it's $300,000 back, claiming the Norsworthy's were double dipping.

"This just like opening up a wound all over again. We've done everything we can to keep moving forward," said Melissa Norsworthy, J.D.'s former wife.

"The county had a right within two years to file suit, two years from the date of the accident to recover any workers compensation benefits, but all this being done, is just bring that raw surface back again," said Amy Mitchell, Norsworthy's attorney.

However, the judge ruled it's been longer than two years, and therefore the county can't sue. It was good news for the Norsworthy family, but still they feel they shouldn't have had to deal with this.

"This is a fear that they're going to have, you know, 'God forbid something happens to me in the line of duty my family's not going to be safe for the county to come back after them,' and that's not fair," said Norsworthy.

Fort Bend County had a private firm argue the case on Friday. The county attorney told abc13, "The county attorney did not want to comment pending ongoing litigation but did say other court proceedings will take place in the future on this case and it's not over."