I am a firefighter upstate. I was injured while fighting a fire. The fire marshal told me that the reason for the building fire was due to some serious electrical building code violations. What claims do I have?
Line of Duty/Worker’s Compensation
Depending upon where your accident took place, Worker’s Compensation would cover your accident. Line of Duty benefits could also cover you. Both systems cover your medical expenses and lost wages. Firefighters in smaller communities could be volunteer firefighters. Those firefighters are covered by Worker’s Compensation. Workers Compensation claims are limited in their loss wage benefits. The limits are set by the Workers Compensation law. Those firefighters covered by Worker’s Compensation can begin their claim by filing with the Workers Compensation Board.
Line of Duty benefits cover New York City firefighters. “Line of Duty” is a compensation system which covers medical benefits. It also covers full lost wages during the period of recovery from the injuries
It all depends upon the arrangements your municipality has made to protect its firefighters.
Firefighter’s Claim
You cannot recover for your pain and suffering from either the Workers Compensation system or the Line of Duty system. You have the possibility of instituting a suit for your pain and suffering. This can be against the owner of the building where your injury took place.
General Municipal Law § 205-a is the basis for a cause of action for firefighters. They can sue for personal injuries arising from their duties as a firefighter. This section of the law protects firefighters when a violation of a local law or regulation has a practical or reasonable connection to an injury sustained by a firefighter.
Further, recovery under General Municipal Law § 205-a does not require the same proof of actual or constructive notice as would be required for a common law negligence claim based upon an unsafe property condition. Rather, the statute requires only that the circumstances surrounding the failure to comply with the local law or regulation is the result of ‘neglect, omission, willful or culpable negligence on the defendant’s part.’ Terranova v New York City Transit Authority, 49 AD3d 10, 850 NYS2d 123 (2d Dept 2007). See also Malzacher v 100 Audubon Corp., 276 AD2d 402, 715 NYS2d 47 (1st Dept 2000).
So in your case, you would have a claim for your medical expenses and lost wages through Workers Compensation (or by Line of Duty benefits). You may also have a claim against the owner of the building where your incident occurred. The fire marshal would need to be specific about the violations. If those code violations were the cause of the fire, you then could bring a claim against the building owner for your pain and suffering.
By James Santner, Esq.
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