FEBRUARY 18, 2015
MADISON COUNTY, NEW YORK
A Madison County jury has awarded $11 million to an Oneida
firefighter who blamed a failure of his gear for severe injuries he suffered in
a 2007 fire.
The lawsuit filed by Mitch and Aimee Dryer centered
around a locator alarm on Dryer's apparatus that failed when he was trapped
in a burning building. Without the alarm, firefighters couldn't find him
quickly to rescue him, causing the Oneida firefighter's injuries that led to
him losing an arm and an ear.
The verdict came this afternoon, according to the lawyers
for the Lynn law firm, which represented the Dryers.
The jury awarded the couple about $11.2 million in
compensatory damages. The jury also will decide on punitive damages at a
hearing Thursday in state Supreme Court.
The jury found Scott Technologies, maker of the PASS alarm,
liable for Dryer's injuries. As part of the overall amount, he was awarded $2
million for past pain and suffering and $5 million for future pain and
suffering, according to Patricia Lynn-Ford, Dryer's lawyer.
The overall award includes $1.25 million for Aimee Dryer for
the losses suffered by her husband.
Dryer was injured in an April 2007 fire at the Oneida City
Lanes when he was buried in a pile of burning debris. He lost an arm and ear as
a result of his severe burns, and has not worked since.
His lawsuit alleged that his burns weren't sustained when
the ceiling of the bowling alley collapsed, but instead resulted and worsened
because he couldn't be located and pulled from the rubble because his alarm
didn't work.
The case revolved around whether Scott Technologies knew
about failures with its safety alarms that are worn by firefighters, and if
they did enough to warn firefighters about the failures.
Oneida firefighters, like firefighters across the country,
wear self-contained breathing apparatus known to breathe inside a burning
building. It includes a Personal Alarm Safety System, or "PASS
alarm," which emits an audible alert and visual signal designed to assist
firefighters in locating a firefighter who has become motionless.
The couple also is entitled to punitive damages, and the
jury will make a decision on that Thursday.
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Jury to be asked: Did locator alarm's failure cause CNY firefighter's severe injuries?
A Central New York firefighter is charging in a lawsuit that
a locator alarm on his breathing apparatus failed when he was trapped in a
burning building.
Without the alarm, firefighters couldn't find him quickly to
rescue him, causing the Oneida firefighter's serious injuries that lead to him
losing an arm and an ear.
The firefighter, Mitchell Dryer, and his wife, Aimee, are
suing Scott Technologies in state Supreme Court in Madison County. A jury is expected
to hear closing arguments in the lawsuit on Tuesday.
Dryer was injured in an April 2007 fire at the Oneida City Lanes when he was buried in a pile of burning debris.
The lawsuit alleges that his burns weren't sustained when
the ceiling of the bowling alley collapsed, but instead resulted and worsened
because he couldn't be located and pulled from the rubble because his alarm
didn't work.
The case focuses on whether Scott Technologies knew about
failures with safety alarms they manufacture that are worn by firefighters, and
if they did enough to warn firefighters about the failures.
The lawsuit contends Scott was aware that firefighters have
died when the alarms failed. Without an alarm sounding fellow firefighters can
have trouble locating a downed firefighter, the lawsuit says.
The Dryers are represented by lawyers from the
Syracuse-based Lynn law firm.
Patricia Lynn-Ford declined comment at this time because the
court case is currently being argued.
Dryer, who was 34 at the time of the incident, was severely
burned, losing
his right arm, right ear and suffering extensive damage to his right leg,
according to court papers. He was buried for 22 to 26 minutes as other
firefighters searched for him, the lawsuit says.
Oneida firefighters, like firefighters across the country,
wear self-contained breathing apparatus known to breathe inside a burning
building. It includes a Personal Alarm Safety System, or "PASS
alarm," which emits an audible alert and visual signal designed to assist
firefighters in locating a firefighter who has become motionless.
The wail of numerous activated PASS alarm sirens could be
heard on videos of the aftermath of the 2001 collapse of the World Trade Center
towers
The lawsuit was filed on June 25, 2008.
Court papers outline the early morning hours of April 22,
2007, when the fire erupted at 3:32 a.m. Dryer and several others responded to
the scene. While fighting the fire, the building's ceiling collapsed on him and
another firefighter, separating them.
Dryer's lieutenant was able to dig himself out, but couldn't
find Dryer in the debris-filled room. It took more than 20 minutes for more
than a dozen firefighters to locate Dryer under the rubble, court papers say.
The delay resulted in much more severe burns and injuries, according to the
lawsuit.
Dryer suffered burns over 20 percent of his body - third-and
fourth-degree to his chest and shoulder and first and second degree to his ear
and neck. He has had numerous surgeries and has been undergoing rehabilitation,
court papers say.
The lawsuit says Dryer, the father of twins born in 2009,
has been unable to work since the fire.
Kansas City, Mo.-based Shook, Hardy and Bacon, the law firm
is representing Scott Technologies, could not be reached for comment.
One defense expert testified in court that the PASS alarm,
if activated, would not have provided additional location information for those
searching for Dryer in the debris, according
to a report in the Oneida Dispatch.