Skip to content

Archives for apparatus-accident

See all posts in the network tagged with apparatus-accident

Pennsylvania Fire Company and Driver Sued for Apparatus Accident

A volunteer firefighter and his fire company have been sued over a vehicle accident last summer that severely injured an 8 year old boy.

Timothy and Jennifer Kolodychak filed suit last week in Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court against Rostraver Township, Rostraver Central Volunteer Fire Department, and Assistant Chief Justin Shawley alleging negligence.

Eight-year-old Logan Kolodychak suffered traumatic brain and facial injuries hat required reconstructive surgery and left him permanently scarred. His mother Jennifer, who was driving at the time, was also injured in the crash. Logan’s 11 year old sister was also in the vehicle and is alleged to have been traumatized but was physically uninjured.

The accident occurred on July 4, 2012 as Chief Shawley was driving a ladder truck on a run. The firefighters on board stated their emergency lights and siren were activated. According to police reports, the ladder approached the intersection where the accident occurred cautiously due to a red traffic light. When traffic was stopped Chief Shawley proceeded slowly through the intersection and was halfway through when the Kolodychak’s vehicle collided with the ladder.

The Kolodychak’s suit claims that Chief Shawley was driving at an unsafe speed, failed to maintain proper lookout, and failed to properly control the vehicle. They also allege the ladder was not responding to a fire or emergency at the time, and failed to use audible warning devices.

Neither driver was cited by police for the accident.

More on the accident.

More on the suit.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Posted in Apparatus, Civil Suit, Municipal Liability, Negligence, Volunteers

Tagged , , , , , , ,

1 comment Posted by on May 18, 2013

Apparatus Accident LODD Prompts Criminal OSHA Citation

The death of a volunteer firefighter who was responding to fire in Nipissing, Ontario has prompted criminal charges being filed against the fire department.

Firefighter Paul Nelson, 21, was killed on December 27, 2011 when the engine he was driving went off the road in a weather related accident. He was a college student at Nipissing University, and was alone in the pumper at the time.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour brought the charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act claiming that the Nipissing Township Fire Department failed to provide Nelson with enough training.

Also facing charges in connection with the accident is a contractor responsible for clearing the roads at the time of the accident. News reports indicate there were some 27 accidents in the area associated with snow and ice.

I am hoping to get some additional details on the nature of the charges. Here are the penalties listed for OSHA violations in Ontario:

Penalties

66.  (1) Every person who contravenes or fails to comply with,

(a) a provision of this Act or the regulations;

(b) an order or requirement of an inspector or a Director; or

(c) an order of the Minister,

is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $25,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than twelve months, or to both.

Idem

(2) If a corporation is convicted of an offence under subsection (1), the maximum fine that may be imposed upon the corporation is $500,000 and not as provided therein.

More on the story.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Posted in Apparatus, Criminal Law, International, LODD, Municipal Liability, Occupational Safety & Health, Volunteers

Tagged , , , , ,

5 comments Posted by on January 2, 2013

Baltimore Settles Fatal Accident Case from 2007

Today, the City of Baltimore settled a wrongful death suit brought by the estates of three people killed in a SUV that collided with a ladder truck in 2007.

The accident occurred at 3:00 am on December 9, 2007, when Ladder 27 was responding to a report of smoke in an apartment building. It collided with an SUV killing Iryna Petrov, 49, her husband, Mikhail Petrov, 35, and Igor Saub, 24, and injuring all four of the firefighters aboard.

Investigators concluded the ladder was traveling at 47 mph at the time, while the SUV was traveling at 23 mph. The fire turned out to be food on the stove. No criminal charges were filed against the driver of the ladder.

The case was settled for the modest sum of $40,000. Alex Poberesky, attorney for the plaintiffs, said concerns about strong immunity protection afforded to firefighters and fire departments in Maryland factored into the decision.

More on the accident.

More on the settlement.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Posted in Apparatus, Civil Suit, Immunity, Municipal Liability, Negligence, Wrongful death

Tagged , , ,

No comments Posted by on May 9, 2012

Firefighter Sues Fire Chief for LODD Accident

The estate of a Virginia volunteer firefighter killed in a LODD roll-over accident has filed a wrongful death suit against the estate of the fire chief and another driver. The suit seeks $2 million in damages.

Firefighter William D. Altice and Fire Chief Posey W. Dillon, of the Rocky Mount Fire Department, died on July 26, 2010, while responding on mutual aid to a reported structure fire in a neighboring community. Chief Dillion was driving the engine at the time of the accident. Neither he nor Altice were wearing seatbelts and both were ejected.

Altice’s estate filed the action in Franklin County Circuit Court naming Chief Dillion’s estate and Teri Anne Valentine, who was driving an SUV that allegedly pulled out in front of the engine precipitating the accident. A grand jury convened in 2011 to determine if Valentine should be charged with vehicular manslaughter refused to indict her, and she has not been charged in connection with the crash.

The Altice suit alleges that both Chief Dillon and Valentine were ” negligent, grossly negligent, careless and reckless” in causing the accident.

Valentine has filed a cross-complaint against Chief Dillon’s estate claiming she had a green light, and that the engine “did not have its lights and sirens in use when entering the intersection.” She is seeking $275,000 in damages.

While often we think of accidents like this being the result of young, inexperienced drivers, at the time of the accident Chief Dillon was 59 and Altice was 67. They had a combined 80 years of service between them.

More on the story.

Here is the NIOSH report on the accident.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Posted in Apparatus, Civil Suit, LODD, Manslaughter, Negligence, Occupational Safety & Health, Volunteers, Wrongful death

Tagged , , ,

1 comment Posted by on May 4, 2012

Florida Firefighters Sued for $1.4 Million in Fatal Accident

The driver and the officer of a Lake County, Florida engine company that was involved in a fatal Christmas day accident in 2009, have been sued for $1.4 million. The suit was filed on behalf of Gieco Insurance Company to recoup sums they have already had to pay out.

Driver Brian Dimond and Lt. Robert A. Armas were sued, along with Lake County. The suit alleges the firefighters were negligent when they attempted to make a U-turn on the Florida Turnpike while responding to a reported accident. That call turned out to be a false alarm and the crew was using the U-turn to return to quarters.

As the Lake County engine approached the turnaround in the high speed lane, it was struck in the rear by an SUV traveling northbound. The SUV was then struck by other vehicles, and in the process one of the passengers in the SUV, Virginia Sellito, 88, was killed.

Reports indicate that the engine company had its emergency warning lights on at the time of the accident. The turnpike authority has since prohibited emergency vehicles from using the U-turn openings.

Florida troopers ticketed FF Dimond after the accident for impeding traffic. It remains unclear what the outcome of that proceeding was.  Oddly enough, Troopers did not cite the driver of the SUV for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, failure to keep a lookout, failure to maintain distance between an emergency vehicle, failure to “move-over”, or any of a host of possible charges that could have been brought. Florida law requires motorists to stay at least 500 feet behind an emergency vehicle. Here is a link to Florida’s “Move Over Slow Down” campaign.

More on the story.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Posted in Apparatus, Civil Suit, Municipal Liability, Negligence, Wrongful death

Tagged , , , , ,

1 comment Posted by on January 16, 2012

Louisiana Chief Sued for Accident

A fire chief in Louisiana has been sued for an accident that occurred in 2010. Fire Chief Marty Thibodeaux of the Little Caillou Volunteer Fire District was responding to a call in a department-owned SUV when he rear-ended a boat trailer being pulled by a pickup truck.

The accident occurred on October 18, 2010, under rainy and foggy conditions. The suit alleges there were four passengers in the pickup, and that one of them, Kevin Picou, suffered “serious, painful, permanent and disabling injuries.”  According to the suit the impact was so violent that it caused the pickup to  “spin out of the southbound lane and come to rest facing northbound on the center line.”

Chief Thibodeaux disputes the severity of the accident, claiming the weather conditions required reduced speeds, and that collision was so minor that the airbags in his vehicle did not deploy. The police report at the time of the accident indicated there were no injuries.

The lawsuit named Chief Thibodeaux  and Little Caillou Volunteer Fire District seeking damages.

More on the story.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Posted in Civil Suit, Negligence, Volunteers

Tagged ,

No comments Posted by on January 11, 2012

Kansas City Settles Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Kansas City, Missouri reached a $280,000 settlement with Hope Nkani and Gift Nkani, parents of  7-year-old  boy Obarimomoya Nkani who was struck and killed by a responding city fire truck in 2009.

Obarimomoya was returning home from Woodland Elementary School on March 2, 2009 when he when he ran into the street and was struck by a fire truck. It is reported that a moving truck belonging to Father and Son Moving and Storage company blocked fire truck driver’s view of the boy.

There were conflicting reports about whether the fire truck’s siren and lights were activated at the time of the accident. In addition, the truck’s brakes failed an initial test following the accident, but subsequently passed two closer examinations.

The lawsuit was filed alleging negligence on the part of the city, Father and Son Moving and Storage, the Kansas City School District and Securitas Security Service. The suit claimed the apparatus driver failed to use the highest level of care while driving through an known and marked school zone route at 3.30 pm rather than taking an alternate route.

The claim against Father and Son Moving and Storage Company was settled by its insurers for $720,000. The school district and security company were dismissed from the lawsuit, although the parents have indicated they plan to re-file their claim against them. A report following the accident claimed the boy was urged by another child to cross in front of the oncoming apparatus.

More on the accident.

More on the settlement.

 

 

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Posted in Apparatus, Civil Suit, Municipal Liability, Negligence, Wrongful death

Tagged , ,

No comments Posted by on October 10, 2011

Bridgeport FD Hit with $3.4 Million Verdict for Apparatus Accident

The Bridgeport Fire Department has been found liable for an apparatus accident that claimed the lives of two women in 2007.

The accident occurred on July 31, 2007, as Ladder 5, driven by Firefighter David Otero, was responding to a reported smoke condition.  Ladder 5 allegedly proceeded through a red traffic signal at Congress Street and Housatonic Avenue, colliding with a car driven by Gwendolyn Little, 58, and occupied by her mother, Essie Williams, 76. Both Little and Williams died as a result of their injuries.

The trial was held before Judge Theodore Tyma sitting without a jury. In an 18 page ruling issued yesterday, the judge found Otero negligent, and awarded roughly $3.4 million in damages to relatives of the deceased. The decision stated:

“The plaintiffs have proven by a fair preponderance of the evidence that Otero was negligent in failing to keep a proper lookout as he drove Ladder 5 into and across the intersection of Congress Street and Housatonic Avenue…. There is no plausible reason, notwithstanding Otero’s explanatory testimony, why he stopped looking to his left and right as he proceeded through the busy and heavily traveled intersection while continually accelerating his approximately 37 ton truck.”

No word yet on whether the city plans an appeal. More on the story.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Posted in Apparatus, Civil Suit, Municipal Liability, Negligence

Tagged , , ,

3 comments Posted by on September 9, 2011

NY Fire Department Sued for $3 million in Strange Wrongful Death Case

Here’s today’s burning question: Can my fire department be sued if a driver smashes into a parked ambulance belonging to another fire department? Apparently so if you are in New York!!!

A New York volunteer fire company and a village are being sued for wrongful death over a 2010 crash that did not even involve one of its vehicles. On Tuesday, Carol A. Durham filed a $3 million lawsuit against the Village of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Volunteer Fire Department Inc., and the driver of a PVFD ambulance,  Cole Q. Jenne, claiming their negligence contributed to an April 24, 2010 accident that injured Durham and killed her 88 year old mother, Marjorie M. Swem.

The accident occurred on Rt. 11 as Jenne was transporting a patient in a Philadelphia Fire Department ambulance. A decision was made to transfer the patient to an ambulance from Fort Drum, and as the Fort Drum ambulance approached from the north Jenne stopped his ambulance by the side of the road headed south.

The suit claims that the Fort Drum ambulance, operated by Jorge A. Ponce, pulled to the side of the road facing north and without warning made a U-turn into the path of Durham’s vehicle causing the collusion. Neither Ponce nor the US Government (who owns the Fort Drum ambulance) were named as defendants.

The lawsuit claims that the Philadelphia VFD was negligent in the hiring, training and retention of Jenne, and that Jenne was negligent by:

  1. failing to properly display emergency lights,
  2. ensuring a reasonably safe location in which to meet up with the Fort Drum ambulance, and
  3. blocking the road in such a way that Durham could not avoid the collision.

The lawyer for the Village, Steven C. Shahan, denied any wrongdoing on the part of the defendants, claiming that if anyone was negligent it was the Fort Drum ambulance.   A police investigation into the accident determined that the ambulance had its lights and sirens on and did not find the driver at fault.  The Village plans to ask for a dismissal of the case and alleges that Durham’s injuries were the result of her not wearing a seat belt.

More on the story.

 

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Posted in Apparatus, Burning Question, Civil Suit, EMS, Municipal Liability, Negligence, Wrongful death, You Can't Make This Stuff Up

Tagged , , , , ,

2 comments Posted by on September 1, 2011

Houston Firefighter Speaks Out About Tragic Intersection Accident

The driver of a Houston ladder truck that was involved in a fatal accident in March of 2009, is speaking out about the accident, the public’s rush to judgment, and the investigation that seemed to place most of the blame on him.

Warren Ducote, 59, retired in November after being reprimanded and suspended in the aftermath of the March 30, 2009 accident that killed bicyclist Leigh Boone. He was driving Ladder 16 to an alarm when it collided with Engine 7, which was responding to the same alarm. The horrific crash sent Ladder 16 on its side, onto a car. In the process it fatally struck Boone who was standing on the sidewalk.

The investigation concluded that Ladder 16 had the red light, while Ducote insists the ladder had the green light. Evidence produced at his disciplinary hearing also indicated that Ladder 16 was traveling 18 mph as it approached the intersection, while Engine 7 was traveling 52 mph. The speed limit on both streets was 35 miles per hour.

“I've been hammered in the news, absolutely hammered, and a lot of the stuff that is being said is not right,” said Ducote.

One of the key questions in the case centers around the operation of the Opticom system by Engine 7’s driver, which investigators believe changed the traffic light giving Engine 7 the green light prior to the  collision. The Opticom system has been implicated in other fatal apparatus accidents, including a 2004 accident in Melrose Park, IL that killed a firefighter; a 2006 accident in Fairfield, Ohio that killed a civilian and resulted in manslaughter charges against the firefighter driving; and a 2006 accident in Johnston, Rhode Island that killed an 11 year old girl.

Ducote claims the system could not have operated as investigators claim, citing his own tests. Ducote and Houston Professional Firefighters, IAFF Local 431, were critical of the investigation claiming it was more intent on assessing blame than getting to the truth.  For more on Ducote’s perspective.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Posted in Apparatus, Disciplinary Action, Negligence, Wrongful death

Tagged ,

No comments Posted by on April 27, 2010

Tragedy in Houston Ends with Modest Settlement

On March 30, 2009, Leigh Boone was standing at a street corner with her bicycle, when a Houston Fire Department ladder truck responding to an alarm collided with an engine company, and within a split second rolled on top of her. She died from her injuries two weeks later on April 11, 2009. She was 29 years old.

Boone’s estate filed suit against the Houston Fire Department for wrong death, and in particular cited the competitive manner in which fire stations rush to incident scenes as a contributing factor in the accident. A total of 11 people were injured in the crash, 9 of them firefighters.

The investigation revealed that the ladder truck had the red light, and the engine had the green light. However, additional factors appear to have been involved that tend make the color of the light less of an issue. Consider one report that noted the just prior to the crash the ladder was traveling at 18 mph, 12 mph below the speed limit, while the engine was traveling at 52 mph, 22 mph over the speed limit. This report and others cite the possible operation of the Opticom device by the engine company driver as a factor by changing the traffic light to give the engine the green light.

While the cause of the accident will remain of interest to firefighters and safety officers, the bottom line is that on January 27, 2010 the City of Houston settled the lawsuit in a somewhat responsible way by agreeing to pay $225,000 to Boone’s estate. The statutory damage cap limited the total damages to $250,000, so the city was able to save $25,000. Maybe its just me, but I have this image of some young city attorney proudly reporting to the city bean-counters that he/she saved the city $25,000… at the expense of Leigh Boone’s family.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Posted in Apparatus, Civil Suit, Municipal Liability, Negligence

Tagged , , ,

3 comments Posted by on February 7, 2010