Alarm Monitoring Company Responsible for Wrongful Death of Firefighters
Apr 8, 2011
Atlanta, GA (Law Firm Newswire) April 8, 2011 – Wrongful death lawsuits involve an element of negligence. This case is no exception.
“On the job deaths are tragic, and in many cases, the end result of someone’s negligence or recklessness. When someone making a mistake costs someone their life, often the family chooses to file a wrongful death lawsuit to obtain compensation for their loss. This case happened when two firefighters were killed in a raging inferno of a house fire in 2007,” said Robert Webb, an Atlanta personal injury attorney with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law.
Often case examples are the best way to explain a point to readers and this case is no exception. The story lies in the details of the circumstances of the deaths. It happened when a fire broke out in a home that was being monitored by an alarm company. The shift person on duty at the time the alarm went off used a two-way intercom to talk to the home’s occupants, asking them if everything was OK. The response by the female resident was that they had a fire.
The alarm company representative then called the fire department non-emergency line and said she was calling to report a fire “alarm” and not a “fire.” As a result of that phone call, the dispatcher rated the call as lower priority, eventually sending one unit out 10 minutes later; 10 minutes in which the fire grew in proportion and intensity. The two firefighters that arrived on the scene were engulfed by flames while trying to rescue the residents of the home. The two firemen and the two homeowners died as a result of a burning cigarette that had ignited flammable material.
Ultimately, when this case went to court, the families of the two dead firemen sued the alarm companies involved for not handling the initial fire call properly. The jury agreed and awarded $4.6 million, plus an additional $350,000 for the children of one of the dead firefighters.
“If you have been involved in a case similar to this or have faced negligence in some form or another and have suffered personal injuries because of it, make your first phone call for information to a seasoned Atlanta personal injury lawyer. If you need to know if you have a case or how to move forward with your case, our office can help you. That’s our job and we offer you aggressive representation,” Webb said.
Webb & D’Orazio are Atlanta personal injury lawyers practicing personal injury law, business law, and criminal defense in Atlanta Georgia.
Webb & D’Orazio
2551 Roswell Road
Suite 201
Marietta, GA 30062
Call: (800) 275-9144
