Colorado man sues first responders

[JanaDee]

OK, I'll be the one who expresses the other point of view.

The man is suing because he has taken a hit of $540,000 and is unable to pay it himself. (Anyone know how far his insurance coverage goes?) In that type of situation, you tend to try to find someone else - usually someone with money, like, say, the government - to pony up. And the way to do that is by filing in court.

When you sue, you want to make sure you've got all the possibilities covered.
The road should have been closed, so sue the county.
The rescue was too slow, so sue the first responders.

Presumably the action against the first responders won't go anywhere, but suing someone for not closing the road just might.

You have to give Mr Ortiz some credit, though. At least he is not trying to sue God for putting that river in the wrong place, and for causing the flood.

Maybe he should sue himself for driving into the water in the first place.

 

[Lorelei Lee]

Maybe he should sue himself for driving into the water in the first place.

Shall I explain to you the legal doctrine of comparative negligence?

As in, if the road should have been closed, the municipality may have been negligent. If he should have realized how bad the road is, he may have been negligent. His negligence doesn't bar him from suing the municipality, it only reduces the amount he can recover.

 

[goofy!]

What do you all think of this?


http://www.denverpost.com/breakingn...-man-rescued-from-rock-creek-during-september


A Broomfield man who was rescued from his submerged car during the September floods has filed papers indicating he might sue his rescuers and first responders.

Roy Ortiz was rescued by North Metro Fire Rescue District and others who responded to the scene after his car was washed off the road on Sept. 12. He says crews took too long to respond to the accident after he became trapped in his upside-down car near the intersection of U.S. 287 and Dillon Road in Lafayette.

He also claims the road should have been closed, thus the accident that left him trapped in the submerged car would never have happened.

No lawsuit has yet been filed, but Ortiz's lawyer, Aurora attorney Ed Ferszt, has filed a legal document that is a typical precursor to filing a lawsuit against a government agency.

A number of cars went into Rock Creek on Sept. 12, when Dillon Road washed out. Roy Ortiz, who was among those rescued from their vehicles, could sue emergency responders claiming they did not rescue him quickly enough. ( David R. Jennings )


The document, called a government immunity notice, is addressed to agencies in the cities of Boulder, Broomfield, Westminster and Lafayette. The document specifically names Boulder County sheriff's deputies, a member of the Westminster dive team, Broomfield and North Metro Fire Rescue District.

The document claims first responders, Boulder County Sheriff's deputy Jeannette Cunning and Sgt. Mike Linden, and an unnamed member of the Westminster dive team, failed to see Ortiz was trapped in the car, and that he ended up spending two hours submerged in Rock Creek until he was rescued.

In the document, Ferszt stated Ortiz survived “by pure grace.”

David Hughes, Boulder deputy county attorney, said Boulder will investigate the claim, “which is what we do with all notices of claim,” he said.

The document also states the road should have been closed and marked as dangerous.

If Broomfield had closed the road, Ortiz would not have suffered physical trauma, such as hypothermia and muscle spasms, and would not have suffered property damage and emotional distress, the document states.

Ortiz has incurred about $40,000 in medical bills from the accident, and about $500,000 in total damages, according to the document.

Sara Farris, a spokeswoman for North Metro Fire, said the document was sent to the fire department and other agencies who responded to the accident, but the fire department has not received word about further action.

Ferszt did not immediately respond to calls for comment from the Enterprise, but in a CBS 4 story, he said it was “unfortunate to have to try and cast liability and responsibility for this act of God on the men and women who risked their own lives.”

CBS 4 reported that Ortiz reluctantly filed a notice of intent to sue because he needs help paying medical bills.

Farris said North Metro realizes Ortiz's ordeal was traumatic, but said responders did all they could to rescue him.

“We sympathize with what he went through,” she said. “Given the challenging conditions, we feel our responders performed well and professionally.”

News of potential legal action comes nearly six months after Ortiz was rescued from his submerged car during the historic floods in September.

Ortiz, who was driving to work on Sept. 12 on Dillon Road near U.S 287, saw the street was washed out by flood waters. He tried to stop, but became trapped in his car when a bridge collapse caused him to slide off the road into Rock Creek.

In September, Ortiz said he called his wife when he fell off the road, then called 911. Before he could get out of his car, two more vehicles on the road crashed into the same creek, causing his car to flip over in the water.

Ortiz said he survived by positioning his head in a small air bubble near the back of his car, but the sound of the flood waters made it impossible for him to yell for help.

"Everywhere I moved, there was the water," he said. "Two hours was an eternity."

North Metro Fire personnel rescued him from his submerged car. Farris said records indicate rescuers had Ortiz out of the car in just a little more than an hour after the 911 call was received.

Ortiz and his rescuers shared an emotional moment after Ortiz was released from the hospital on Sept. 13, where, at a press conference, he thanked North Metro for rescuing him and said his faith in God helped keep him calm during the flood.

Jim Chalat, a Denver personal injury lawyer not related to the case, said it is not uncommon for people to sue public entities such as ambulance companies or fire departments. To win a case, however, the plaintiff must be able to show that the company showed “gross deviation from reasonable care” or that the plaintiff received care or services that caused them a significant or unreasonable injury.

“It would have to be a type of “Oh my God” screw-up,” he said.


Read more: Broomfield man rescued from Rock Creek during September floods could sue his rescuers - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/breakingn...rom-rock-creek-during-september#ixzz2vf48bCkt
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/10/roy-ortiz-may-sue-rescuers_n_4936804.html

I live about a mile from where the road this guy was on washed out. The road is not a main road, but a small access road from the main road that services 2 businesses, the main one a gravel and stone company. The only reason he should have been on that road is if he was buying landscaping gravel. Hard to believe at 7am in the morning. Otherwise he should have been on the main road. It is not even a shortcut, so have no idea why anybody would be on it. There are no feeder roads from houses, it is in the middle of open space. So, the idea that it should be closed seems off base.

To even suggest the first responders were lacking during that flood sickens me. They saved so many people. The flood has been called a 1,000 year flood, devastating a huge area and yet there were less than 10 deaths. Any death is horrible, but in the wake of the destruction, it was the effort of the first responders that kept the death toll low.

Hope the judge laughs him out of the court room.

 

[goofy!]

OK, I'll be the one who expresses the other point of view.

The man is suing because he has taken a hit of $540,000 and is unable to pay it himself. (Anyone know how far his insurance coverage goes?) In that type of situation, you tend to try to find someone else - usually someone with money, like, say, the government - to pony up. And the way to do that is by filing in court.

When you sue, you want to make sure you've got all the possibilities covered.
The road should have been closed, so sue the county.
The rescue was too slow, so sue the first responders.

Presumably the action against the first responders won't go anywhere, but suing someone for not closing the road just might.

You have to give Mr Ortiz some credit, though. At least he is not trying to sue God for putting that river in the wrong place, and for causing the flood.

That bridge collapse was one of the very first things that happened in the whole flood and was the forebearer of what was to come. Rock Creek flooded fast, faster than expected. It was closed (and one end remains so to this day) shortly after the bridge collapsed. Again, it was a small access road that services two businesses. Keeping houses from sliding down the mountains was probably more on the surrounding town's minds. It was an access road. He could have gone about 50 feet to the left and taken a regular, perfectly good road. One thing in floods that all of us know around here, you do not go across access road bridges when you see they are flooded. You take the main roads. Guy is an idiot.

Also, I watched the whole rescue live on local tv. There is no way it was 2 hours. The first responders are correct in that their records show the rescue was 1 hour from the time they received the 911 call.

 

[dakcp2001]

So you think first responders, who are either paid to do a job or who volunteer to do a job, should let someone die because they're afraid to be sued?

No, that is not what I said. I think our future is going to be a world in which no one volunteers or takes that job. There isn't going to be anyone willing to risk their own life to save yours, if they get paid crap and constantly get sued. I think the sue happy mentality is changing healthcare every single day, and not in a good way.

 

[dakcp2001]

OK, I'll be the one who expresses the other point of view.

The man is suing because he has taken a hit of $540,000 and is unable to pay it himself. (Anyone know how far his insurance coverage goes?) In that type of situation, you tend to try to find someone else - usually someone with money, like, say, the government - to pony up. And the way to do that is by filing in court.

When you sue, you want to make sure you've got all the possibilities covered.
The road should have been closed, so sue the county.
The rescue was too slow, so sue the first responders.

Presumably the action against the first responders won't go anywhere, but suing someone for not closing the road just might.

You have to give Mr Ortiz some credit, though. At least he is not trying to sue God for putting that river in the wrong place, and for causing the flood.

Where did you get that number? The article says he has 41k in medical bills, yet he is sue ing for 500k

 

[SAMCRO]

My friend who is a State Trooper advises all of us to never stop and help someone on the side of the road for 2 reasons:

1) Money grabbing morons like this guy

2) Safety reasons when dealing with strangers (staged incidents)

He advises to call *HP if on a major highway or 911 if you pass someone who looks to be in need of help.

As he said it's pitiful that people willing to help put have to put themselves at too much risk when doing so. It's safer to let the pros handle it.

 

[JanaDee]

My friend who is a State Trooper advises all of us to never stop and help someone on the side of the road for 2 reasons:

1) Money grabbing morons like this guy

2) Safety reasons when dealing with strangers (staged incidents)

He advises to call *HP if on a major highway or 911 if you pass someone who looks to be in need of help.

As he said it's pitiful that people willing to help put have to put themselves at too much risk when doing so. It's safer to let the pros handle it.

As a woman who frequently drives long distances alone or with my kids, I never stop to help anyone. Ever.

 

[tennvalgirl]

My friend who is a State Trooper advises all of us to never stop and help someone on the side of the road for 2 reasons:

1) Money grabbing morons like this guy

2) Safety reasons when dealing with strangers (staged incidents)

He advises to call *HP if on a major highway or 911 if you pass someone who looks to be in need of help.

As he said it's pitiful that people willing to help put have to put themselves at too much risk when doing so. It's safer to let the pros handle it.

This.

 

[tennvalgirl]

Wow, that's cold.

I understand he now has medical bills, but the first responders saved his life.

Suing them is a really d$%# move, legal or not.

 

[Hannathy]

I understand he now has medical bills, but the first responders saved his life.

Suing them is a really d$%# move, legal or not.

This, just cause it is "legal" doesn't make it right.

Also wonder who he is going to call or sue the next time he gets himself in a situation if he happens to be in a town that no longer has first res ponders due to having been sued and can no longer afford them.

Personal responsibility is completely gone anymore.

 

[pigletgirl]

Why can't he be thankful he was rescued?? Just looking for some $$$$.....

 

[Tozzie]

Read the soundbite again.

He's got medical bills. The article didn't say what his injuries were, but he's not just suing for the value of his car.

Actually I did read it and it is you who needs to re read it, it said hhe incurred $40, 000 in medcal bills/

 

[lsyorke]

People can sue for anything these days, it's a sad state of affairs. We had a police officer, working an off duty job respond to a man with a knife call in a large mall. The guy was crazy and had a woman in a choke hold with the knife at her throat. The officer took one shot, hit the guy in the head(an amazing shot), saving the womans life. Yup..she's suing the policeman and the department for stress because he should have waited for the swat team(which would have taken at least 30 minutes to assemble).

The suit when nowhere.

 

[Nennie]

I don't want to rush to judgment without having all the facts, but want to point out that no lawsuit has been filed. It's just a tort claims notice, which is required to put the government on notice of a potential lawsuit, so that the govt entity has time to investigate.

If one doesn't file the document, then they are barred from suing later. At this point the attorney is just preserving his clients rights....nothing more than that.

There was a tort claims case in my state stemming from a highway that was covered in ice, and apparently multiple citizens called 911 to report it. The road stayed open and a car accident resulted in one person dying and another losing their leg. The jury concluded that the municipality could have prevented the accident, and awarded damages in the millions.

Don't know anything about this matter at hand, but just wanted to mention that no lawsuits have been filed, and it's likely that if the investigations reveal that the government entity didn't do anything wrong, then it probably won't ever turn into one.

 

[Pre]

I travelled that road to work that morning, prior to the collapse, and I thank God every day I wasn't one of the cars that fell into the river.

As an attorney I respect his case, but as someone who was literally on that road 25 minutes before the collapse I'm thankful I made it over. It was dark and I don't know if the city or anyone else even knew the road collapsed until the sun came up. There are no lights on that road and it is a little hilly there so if you came down the hill you wouldn't have seen it. It was a short cut that saved a lot of time if you were going west, and a lot of people used the road. It took about a week to even get all the cars out of the river

I personally think he should call it an accident and grow up and be happy he's alive.

 

[It'sWDW4me]

Actually I did read it and it is you who needs to re read it, it said hhe incurred $40, 000 in medcal bills/

Ummmm... from the OP...

Ortiz has incurred about $40,000 in medical bills from the accident, and about $500,000 in total damages, according to the document.

I don't know what the other $460,000 in damages could be. Someone suggested a potential gold-plated vehicle??

 

[Lorelei Lee]

I understand he now has medical bills, but the first responders saved his life.

Suing them is a really d$%# move, legal or not.

True, but you don't let anyone die, even if they are lacking in gratitude.

I was on a cruise a few years ago, the captain told us how his crew had rescued a guy from a sinking sailboat. They weren't able to do anything about the sailboat. The guy would have drowned if the cruise ship hadn't come along. Instead if thanking the crew, he gave them grief about letting his boat sink. What should the captain have done, thrown him back into the ocean?

 

[Lorelei Lee]

Ummmm... from the OP...





I don't know what the other $460,000 in damages could be. Someone suggested a potential gold-plated vehicle??

Most likely it is classic tort damages -- pain and suffering. Has to be included in the notice or it is considered waived.

 

[Hannathy]

Ummmm... from the OP...





I don't know what the other $460,000 in damages could be. Someone suggested a potential gold-plated vehicle??

Probably so after all the lawyers take their cut there will be enough left over to buy a new car!


Just making a point, I think it is disgusting that he is suing or filing a tort- which means he has thought about suing, or a bunch of lawyers have convinced him to.