Immunity

Rescued Victim’s Claim Sparks Outrage

A Colorado man who was rescued by firefighters from floodwaters has sparked outrage in the emergency services community by filing a civil claim for damages against his rescuers. Roy Ortiz claims that last September 12, 2014 during historic floods he ...

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Strong Arm Loses to Dallas Fire

A prominent Dallas personal injury attorney has lost his lawsuit against the Dallas Fire Department over a 2008 apparatus accident. Brian Loncar, who advertises himself extensively on television as “The Strong Arm”, was driving his new $180,000 Bentley in May, ...

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Prescott Ponders Life After Yarnell Hill Disaster

An editorial appeared Sunday in the Prescott (Arizona) News asking a rather sobering question:  in light of $65 million in claims against the City of Prescott and $273 million in claims against various governmental entities following the Yarnell Hill Fire ...

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NY and PA Lawsuits in the News

Two negligence lawsuits are in the fire law news today, one in New York involving the delayed response of an FDNY ambulance, the other in Pennsylvania where a firefighter aboard a tanker driven by an intoxicated chief is suing the ...

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DC Delayed Ambulance Suit Dismissed

A $12 million lawsuit filed by the family of a DC man who died of a heart attack last January after waiting over 30 minutes for an ambulance, has been dismissed. Durand A. Ford Sr., 71, died on January 1, ...

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Arrest Powers and Stopping Cars

Today’s Burning Question: We were returning from an alarm and we saw a car driving erratically. We were afraid the car was going to kill someone – so we turned on our emergency lights and siren and the car pulled ...

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Hurricane Evacuation Orders and Liability

Today’s burning question: If someone refuses to follow an evacuation order made because a hurricane is approaching, can we be liable if we later refuse to respond to their distress calls in the middle of the storm because they changed ...

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Pennsylvania Fire Chief Settles Defamation Suit

A defamation suit filed against Wilkes-Barre Township Fire Chief John Yuknavich for statements he had at a council meeting in 2009 has been settled. Joseph Naperkowski claimed that Chief Yuknavich defamed him on June 1, 2009. He claims that Chief ...

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NJ Supreme Court Rules Against Rescue Squad Immunity

On Tuesday, the New Jersey Supreme Court handed down a decision paving the way for a jury to decide whether personnel assigned to the Plainfield Rescue Squad were negligent in not immediately transporting a shooting victim, as opposed to performing ...

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