Parents of drowned teen file Law suit against Fire Department and City

[drrich2]

The Terrace Lake Lot Owners Association is listed in the lawsuit for failing to display warning signs, fences, or other restrictions to prevent trespassers. The plaintiffs claim the association should have known children would be attracted to the lake, so therefore, it was their duty to display warning signs."

Okay, can you imagine trying to stick a warning sign on everything ignorant people might blunder into? (Granted, there's been a big effort in product labeling to do just that).

Sounds like the proper response to the hazard is to stay off the ice or accept the consequences should they occur, not fund a crack team of ultra-rapid response bailout professional rescuers with 24/7 availability in case someone decides to walk on a frozen lake and falls through.

Sympathy for the tragedy, yes. Externalize blame & rip off the government, no.

Richard.

 

[Colliam7]

"According to the lawsuit, Lodestein’s parents claim emergency responders “owed a duty to Derek Lodestein to respond in a timely and adequate manner.”

I would be interested in what the 'duty' is determined to be, considering that police were apparently on site within 3 minutes.

"The Terrace Lake Lot Owners Association is listed in the lawsuit for failing to display warning signs, fences, or other restrictions to prevent trespassers. The plaintiffs claim the association should have known children would be attracted to the lake, so therefore, it was their duty to display warning signs."

This is a nuisance lawsuit. If there is a need for any evidence of how ludicrous this element of the suit is, one only needs to look at the experience in California's Yosemite Valley, where as recently as July, 2011, 'Three hikers were swept over Yosemite's Vernal fall this week, after bypassing signs and climbing over a metal guardrail to get into the park's swollen waters.' In that case, even Governor Moonbeam (Jerry Brown) acknowleged that 'signs warning about the danger were easy to spot'. So, I doubt that the owner's association should have much trouble refuting that claim, that signs would make any difference.

The other element that argues against the merit of the lawsuit is that performing a rescue on a frozen lake may be inherently risky to the rescuers - trained or not. Again using Yosemite Valley as an example, where rescues of clueless hikers on Half Dome are now under re-evaluation, the critical question being asked is, 'Can we really expose rescuers to the risk that is present?' Can you really ask LEOs, whether they can swim or not, to risk becoming another victim in a case like this?

 

[Gary D.]

Good post COLLIAM7

Welcome to Litigation World. All passengers are allowed to partake in risky behaviors and ignore any kind of warning signs posted or not. Then if you are involved in an accident you, or your surviving family will be allowed to blame someone else and try to become rich.

This is total BS and society needs to start taking responsibility for what they do. Someone kills someone with a gun so they blame the gun maker. Or they blame a teacher for not letting them play at recess once twenty years earlier. It’s always someone else’s fault.

Not long ago there was a fatal accident at a RACE TRACK during a motorcycle race. They started a criminal investigation and the family tried to sue the other bike riders involved as well as the track. Geee, isn’t there the risk of injury or death at a race track?

It seems that people are looking at being stupid as a cash cow. It’s not going to stop until people starting to take responsibility for what they do and the courts put a stop to these law suits. There must be an Ambulance Chasing 101 course in Law School.

 

[faster7581]

terrible terrible ACCIDENT...... why must everyone in this country try to sue over anything?? There needs to some kind of law or something against BS lawsuits, or make the people who filed pay court costs and lawyer costs if they loose their BS suit!!!!!!!!!!!!... What were the parents doing allowing their 16 YO to walk accross the ice?? Is it not their responsibilty to keep an eye on their child? I cant stand the sue happiness..

 

[ScubaSteve1962]

16 years old, old enough to get a drivers license, but too young to know to stay off of ice, or don't trespass unless there's a sign telling you not to. And since he didn't, lets risk the first-responders lives to save him. Yes it's a tragedy, but who's really the blame here.