Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
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.
