Widow Sues Shrevesport For LODD – Fall From Ladder Truck

The widow of a Shreveport, Louisiana battalion chief killed after a fall from a ladder truck has filed suit against the city for negligence in connection with the death. Traci Adams filed suit on February 19, 2010 for the December 12, 2009 death of Chief Tommy Adams. The accident occurred on February 21, 2009 at the conclusion of a Mardi Gras parade.

The suit alleges that the members of the department were negligent in administering to Chief Adams,  including

• not properly clearing his airway
• not giving him supplemental oxygen.
• not taking proper spinal precautions
• transporting to an inappropriate medical facility

Understandable the department is hurt by the allegations contained in the suit and the chief has vowed to vigorously defend the members’ actions. In the months after the accident, firefighters had held numerous fundraisers to help offset the expenses for Mrs. Adams and her two children. Firefighter’s even helped to remodel the family home. The Shrevesport Firefighters Association president Stacy Birdwell publically responded to the lawsuit expressing his support for the members who attended to Chief Adams, and commending the way the department pulled together for the family in the days and weeks following the accident.

Mrs. Adams, an emergency room nurse, was present at the scene when the incident occurred, and  personally witnessed the conduct that she alleges was negligent. Nevertheless, even with her personal testimony, suits such as this are very difficult to win for a number of reasons.

First of all, workers compensation laws usually restrict the rights of an injured or deceased employee or his/her family members to sue the employer for negligence through a legal principle commonly known as exclusivity. The same liability protection extends to the negligence of co-workers. Secondly, in many jurisdictions there remains some vestiges of sovereign immunity that offers fire departments some degree of liability protection. Finally many states have statutory immunity for firefighters and emergency workers for negligence committed in the line of duty.

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