Many fire and emergency service (FES) organizations assign personnel who may not have the required training or certifications to drive a fire apparatus, whereas some organizations utilize online training through several different platforms, believing that anyone who already drives is proficient after completing the online training.
Consider the following scenario:
After a firefighter and his officer were killed during a rollover, and one firefighter was critically injured, all department personnel were required to attend the online training. The injured firefighter filed a personal injury lawsuit against the driver and company officer’s estate suggesting the officer and driver did not make him wear a seat belt when responding to emergency incidents as outlined in their standard operating procedure. He alleged that this caused him to be ejected during the rollover.
One could argue through vicarious liability that the company officer and driver could have legal liability placed on them; however, what responsibility does the firefighter have? What do you think the responsibilities must be as the lawsuit continues through litigation? Why?