Town being sued for NOT having a Dive Rescue team

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

BladesRobinson

ScubaBoard Supporter
ScubaBoard Supporter
Scuba Instructor
Messages
643
Reaction score
48
Location
FLORIDA / LAT 27°39.133' / LON 080°22.261' / ICW M
This will be an interesting case for the PSD community to follow...


FROM THE AUGUST 9 ISSUE OF
http://www.overlawyered.com

Last October the rescue squads of the town of Old Saybrook, Ct., were
hailed as heroes for their work in attempting to save Barbara
Connors, 75, of Medfield, Mass., from a Ford Explorer that had
plunged into the Connecticut River. Connors' son-in-law, who had been
at the wheel and who managed to escape from the vehicle on his own,
later told police he accidentally hit the SUV's accelerator,
propelling it through a chain-link fence and into the water below.
But now Connors is suing a long list of officials of the town
(population 1,962) on the grounds that they should have maintained or
funded a specially dedicated and equipped dive rescue team; had they
done so, she would have been rescued from the submerged vehicle in
less than the 29 minutes it actually took, avoiding serious injury.
Through her attorney, Robert Reardon Jr. of New London, she's also
suing the son-in-law. "'I find it extraordinary the town is being
sued in these circumstances,' First Selectman Mike Pace, one of the
defendants, said at Thursday's selectmen's meeting." (Claudia Van
Nes, "Town Sued Over River Rescue", Hartford Courant, Aug. 5; Walt
Platteborze, "Woman 'critical' after being pulled from submerged
SUV", New Haven Register, Oct. 15, 2004).

....................................

Woman `critical' after being pulled from submerged SUV
Walt Platteborze, Register Correspondent10/15/2004

Emergency personnel inspect the the vehicle and seawall Thursday.

OLD SAYBROOK — A woman was in critical condition late Thursday after
being trapped in a vehicle that plunged into the Connecticut River at
Saybrook Point, but the driver, who managed to escape, was rescued by
crew members from a nearby schooner.

Barbara Connors, 75, of Medfield, Mass., was in the submerged Ford
Explorer for about 15 to 20 minutes before being pulled to the
surface by police divers, Detective Sgt. Eugean Heiney said.

Connors had no pulse, but a CPR team of police, firefighters
ambulance personnel and paramedics were able to restore a heartbeat
at the scene, Patrolman Michael Spera said. She was in critical
condition late Thursday at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Police said the Ford Explorer carrying Connors and Alan Houser, 70,
of 10 Rose Lane, Old Lyme, jumped the sidewalk that runs along the
bulkhead between the Dock & Dine restaurant and town pavilion,
crashed through a fence and flew about 15 feet into the river.

The incident occurred about 12:49 p.m. The vehicle was completely
submerged in about 10 feet of water when rescue personnel arrived.
The vehicle plunged into the water less than two hours after high
tide, which meant the level next to the bulkhead was relatively deep.

Houser, the driver, got out of the sinking vehicle. He was hauled
from the 60-degree water by two crew members of the schooner
Quinnipiack, an educational vessel of New Haven's Sound School that
was in the vicinity with a group of high school students aboard.

The crew members, Jason Hansen, 23, whose hometown wasn't available,
and Shawn Forgette, 19, of West Haven, went to Houser's rescue in a
ship's boat, police said. Neither man could be reached for comment.

Heiney said police hadn't yet determined why the Explorer went into
the river, and hadn't yet been able to speak with Houser, who was
treated at Middlesex Medical Center Shoreline in Essex and released.

The relationship of Connors and Houser was unclear, Heiney said.

Parking spaces in the large municipal lot facing the river are a
favorite mid-day spot for area residents who like to eat lunch in
their vehicles while enjoying the view across to Old Lyme.

Police received several cell phone calls alerting them of the
incident.

Joseph Bergonzi, a former Chester selectman and firefighter who was
having lunch at the point with his wife, said "It was the (fastest)
response I've ever seen … they were here in a heartbeat."

Town Fire Chief Jeff True, Spera and Officer Michael Gardner;
Firefighter Chris Cestaros; and Essex Assistant Fire Chief Andy
Kresley went into the water to search for the vehicle.

Old Saybrook Officer Jay Rankin and state police Trooper David Todd,
in wetsuits and scuba gear, then entered the water and pulled Connors
from the vehicle.

Heiney said the rescue effort was aided by a truck from Eric's Towing
in Old Saybrook, which used a tow rope to pull the vehicle to the
surface and out.

A current of 1 to 2 mph made the rescue more difficult, Heiney said.

Spera said the police department was "very pleased with the rescue
effort by all the agencies involved, as well as the citizens (the
Quinnipiack crew) who helped us." Often in such efforts, the help of
citizens is critical, he said.

Also taking part in the rescue were the Old Saybrook, Essex and Old
Lyme ambulance associations, paramedics from Middlesex and Lawrence &
Memorial hospitals, the state Department of Environmental Protection
marine division and the U.S. Coast Guard, police said.

It was second tragedy at that location in just more than a week. The
body of a Groton woman was found in the same area Oct. 5. Her death
was ruled a suicide by drowning.

........................................

Town Sued Over River Rescue

Woman Trapped In Car Driven Off Point Faults Lack Of Dive Team
August 5, 2005
By CLAUDIA VAN NES, Courant Staff Writer

OLD SAYBROOK -- Barbara Connors, 76, rescued after a car driven by
her son-in-law plunged into the Connecticut River last October, is
suing a long list of town officials for damages.

"I find it extraordinary the town is being sued in these
circumstances," First Selectman Mike Pace, one of the defendants,
said at Thursday's selectmen's meeting.

The town's insurance company will represent Pace; park and recreation
commission members; Police Chief Ed Mosca; Public Works Director
Larry Bonin; Building Inspector Donald Lucas; Town Planner Christine
Nelson; and Chester Slododosky, who the suit says was the zoning
enforcement officer at the time, but had retired prior to the
incident.

Also being sued is Alan Hauser, the son-in-law who lives with
Connor's daughter in Old Lyme. Hauser told police he accidentally hit
the accelerator of his Ford Explorer, which was running and in gear,
causing the vehicle to jump the walk and crash through the chain-link
fence that runs along the river at town-owned Saybrook Point.

Hauser had driven his mother-in-law to the Point Oct. 14 to have
lunch with her.

In the intent to sue filed by Connor's attorney, Robert Reardon Jr.
of New London, late last year, the rescuers were named - police
officers and volunteers - but are not included in the actual suit.

Instead, added to the suit are new accusations that the town failed
to maintain a rescue dive team and refused to fund a team, causing
Connors to spend 29 minutes submerged in the water until divers could
get to her.

"There were some very heroic acts going on that day," acknowledged
Reardon Thursday. Indeed, at a ceremony in town hall honoring the
police, firefighters and others who repeatedly dove without equipment
to try to rescue Connors, her family attended and thanked those
honored.

But, Reardon contended, divers at the ready would have meant "these
people didn't have to risk their lives and my client could have been
rescued in a timely manner."

Reardon said Connors, who had been living on her own in
Massachusetts, has severe brain damage from the incident and lives
with round-the-clock care in a nursing home in Waterford that she is
never expected to leave.

The suit also charges the fence should have been stronger, the Point
patrolled at lunchtime by police and more signs warning of "unsafe
conditions" posted.

Pace told fellow selectmen the suit would be fought "vigorously by
the town," which he pointed out not only provided scores of rescuers,
but also sustained costs in needed repairs.
 
So shouldn't the town be able to counter sue the son-in-law for being stupid enough to hit the accelerator instead of the brake?
 
unbeliveable, all that work to save somebodyand they sue you for saivng their life to slow...
 
greg, thats not why they are suing...they aren't suing the dive team...they are suing the town of chester that doesn't have a dive team available....
 
Only in America...
 
lord1234:
greg, thats not why they are suing...they aren't suing the dive team...they are suing the town of chester that doesn't have a dive team available....
Yeah cause if they had one, they woulda been faster. But expecting a town of less than 2,000 people to fund a dive team is nutz. They probably barely fund their Police and Fire Deptments.

I wonder how come she isnt sueing her daughter for getting married to a guy who cant tell the differance between the gas and brake pedals, and thereby endagering her life. :D
 
15-20 minutes sounds like a pretty good time for a town with no dive team. Sounds like a pretty great time even for a town with a dive team. Just too many starving lawyers in the world. Now doesen't GWBs Tort reform sound like a good idea? It would stop most of this nonsense. I say make the loosing lawyer pay for all expenses of the trial. Then they wouldn't be so quick to file garbage like this.
It will never fly in court but IM sure the town lawyer will advise to settle. Imagine that, lawyers sticking together!
 
Now be nice guys, he has a good excuse.

He spilled a cup of superheated McDonalds coffee that didn’t come with a warning label “you might get burned if spilled on the boys”. That caused him to speed up. McDonalds Fault.

He couldn’t see the speedo because nobody told him eating Pizza and donuts would make him fat so he didn’t have an idea as to how fast he was going. Sue Krispy Cream and Pizza Hut.

The accelerator pedal didn’t have a warning sign on it stating “Pushing down may make the vehicle go faster”. Sue Ford.

The vehicle didn’t have a warning, printed in 903 different languages in 19 font sizes, including Braille in 34 colors, that if this vehicle is driven into deep water it might sink. Sue Ford some more.

No warning that the color of HIS Ford SUV would roll over when the tires go and you are a stupid driver. He knew about all the other colors having trouble but didn’t think it affected his color. Sue Dupont or who ever made the paint.

There was no billboard size warning label on the fence indicating the chain-link would not hold back “His Color” SUV at high speed while being unable to see the speedo as he blotted up the super hot coffee and donut fragments from his lap. Sue the folks that made and installed the fence.

AH, lets not forget the external water pressure holding the door shut with such a force it couldn’t be opened. Seeing how there was no warning label on the body of water at the point of impact, Sue God.

These people are just idiots looking for deep pockets.

We have drastically slowed down the number of suits we were subjected to. It’s called “Ducks Shoot Back”. If we get sued for some chicken poop stuff we can turn right around and sue back.

Once the word got out we were doing that things changed rapidly. We went from a suit or two a month to none in the past few years.

It’s so much fun to get even.

Gary D.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

Back
Top Bottom