Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
The Florida paramedic who took the detached lower leg of an accident victim for use in canine cadaver training, has been sued by the leg’s owner for damages. The bizarre case began on September 19, 2008 when Karl Lambert of Brevard County was severely injured in a car accident on Rt. 95.
St. Lucie County Fire District paramedic Cynthia Economou took the leg from the accident scene intending to use it to help train her dog in body recovery. She subsequently was charged criminally with second-degree petit theft, pled nolo in May, 2009, and served 6 months probation. She resigned from the fire department.
The lawsuit seeks damages for conduct that was “outrageous and went beyond the bounds of decency … was odious and utterly intolerable in a civilized society.”
Economou contends that the foot was so badly damaged it could not have been reattached. She claims she found it still in the wreckage an hour after Lambert had been transported. The lawsuit challenges the assertion that the foot could not be attached, and seeks unspecified damages from both Economou and the fire district.
