The city of Greenwich, Connecticut has been found not liable in a lawsuit involving an accident involving a Cos Cob Fire Police truck as reported by Greenwichtime.com. The accident injured one man, leaving him paralyzed. The man later sued the city for $12 million, claiming the fire police truck was not positioned properly.
Accident Details
On September 3, 2006, a truck jackknifed near the end of the Mianus River Bridge, spilling diesel fuel onto I-95 South. Volunteers from the Cos Cob Fire Police cordoned off the area with flares, cones and a fire truck, which they parked, with lights flashing, diagonally across the highway. William Kumah was driving southbound when he struck the fire truck, causing him severe injuries. Kumah claimed the fire truck was positioned so that he could not see the flashing lights, and that parking the truck as the fire police did caused a hazard on the highway.
Jury Decision
The jury in the lawsuit found that the town was not negligent as the decision to park the fire truck as they did was discretionary, so the town could not be held accountable. In addition, considering the severity of the original accident, the actions of the Cos Cob Fire Police were reasonable. Firefighters and town officials were concerned that a decision against the town could lead emergency personnel to be less likely to respond in similar accidents in the future.
Emergency Service Protections
Fire officials and town leaders say they are supporting legislation that will add additional protections to first responders from similar legal action in the future. According to town officials, protections for emergency responders are necessary, especially when the actions taken to protect the public are prudent and reasonable. The jury decision confirms that the fire police in the accident that injured Kumah were acting reasonably. Town officials said that they were sorry that Kumah was severely injured, stating that it is never good when a citizen is injured, but that it was simply an accident with no liability falling to the town or the volunteers working the accident scene that night.
When the negligence of another person or an organization leads to an auto accident where injury or death occurs, a liability lawsuit may be in order. Contact a qualified, experienced attorney today if you or a loved one has been injured, or a loved one has died, in an auto accident that was the result of someone else’s negligence.