Disabled FDNY Firefighter Sues Over Vaccine Mandate

An FDNY firefighter who suffered a severe allergic reaction to the COVID vaccine resulting in a career-ending heart condition, and who was denied an accidental disability pension, has filed suit in federal court alleging that the city violated his Fourteenth Amendment due process rights.

O’Brian Pastrana alleges that the city violated his rights in two way: first by mandating that he receive the first COVID vaccine; and second, he alleges a more grievous violation occurred when he was ordered to receive a second dose despite the city knowing he suffered a severe anaphylactic reaction after the first dose. This second dose was reportedly administered despite CDC guidance to the contrary.

Pastrana initially filed for an accidental (line of duty) disability pension. Despite acknowledging that he was permanently disabled, that request was denied because a reaction to the vaccine did not meet the legal definition of an “accident.” Pastrana then filed an Article 78 action in the Supreme Court for New York County to challenge that ruling, but the court agreed with the pension board. That prompted him to bring a civil rights action – not to contest the pension decision – but rather focused damages for a violation of his substantive due process rights, and the failure to accommodate under New York city and state law.

Quoting from the complaint:

• At the young age of thirty-five, Firefighter Pastrana’s lifelong dream of serving the FDNY has been cruelly torn away from him, replaced by a future plagued by permanent disability and financial instability.
• Despite an immediate severe anaphylactic allergic reaction to the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, which was documented as a service-connected injury by the FDNY doctors, the FDNY required Mr. Pastrana to receive the second dose.
• After the second dose, Mr. Pastrana went into heart failure and was diagnosed with myocarditis, a rare but known adverse reaction to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
• His heart will never be the same, and the FDNY ultimately deemed him unfit for duty, ending his career as a firefighter in the cruelest of ways.
• This shocking turn of events stands as a haunting testament to the price Firefighter Pastrana paid for his unwavering dedication to his duties.
• The FDNY knew that Firefighter Pastrana suffered an anaphylactic reaction to the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
• He was taken by ambulance from the firehouse while on active duty due to the worsening and severity of his allergic reaction, which included rash, hives, and swelling in the lips.
• He was seen in the emergency room and was given epinephrine, a drug commonly used to treat anaphylaxis, along with prednisone.
• He was seen repeatedly by FDNY Bureau of Health Services doctors, and at each appointment, Firefighter Pastrana articulated the fact that he was suffering from an ongoing severe allergic reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine and that he was concerned about getting a second dose.
• A “severe allergic reaction” after a previous dose of the COVID-19 vaccination or an “immediate allergic reaction of any severity” to a previous dose is the only CDC-delineated contraindication to any future doses of the vaccine.
• Despite his ongoing severe allergic reaction to the first dose, the FDNY not only recommended, but required, Firefighter Pastrana to receive the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
• This case invokes fundamental principles of personal liberty and constitutional protection.
• The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees the right to bodily integrity, the right to make personal medical decisions, and the right to refuse unwanted medical treatment, all of which are deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and traditions.
• The Defendants callously disregarded Firefighter Pastrana’s health and safety, and their obligations under the United States Constitution, New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”) and New York State Human Rights Law (“NYSHRL”) to provide a reasonable accommodation to the City’s COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate.
• The FDNY was required by law to make reasonable accommodations to meet the needs of Firefighter Pastrana’s medical impairments.
• They failed to do so, and that failure not only robbed him of his cherished career as an FDNY firefighter but also inflicted irreparable harm upon his health.
• This failure, this betrayal of trust and responsibility, serves as a damning indictment of an institution entrusted with safeguarding its own.
• Firefighter Pastrana’s sacrifice should have been met with compassion and accommodation, yet instead, it was met with indifference and neglect, leaving him to bear the agonizing consequences alone.
• The depths of his suffering are immeasurable: the trauma he endures extends far beyond physical pain.
• It seeps into every facet of his existence, casting a shadow over his once vibrant life. Each day is a battle against the relentless tide of depression, anxiety, and physical agony, a battle he fights not only for himself but for his shattered family, robbed of the husband and father they once knew.
• As he grapples with the wreckage of his former life, he clings to the hope that justice will prevail and that, in the eyes of the law, his suffering will not be in vain.

Here is a copy of the complaint: