May 22-- When first responders volunteer their free time and wind up sustaining injuries, the expectation might be that their medical expenses will be covered.
That wasn't the case for a Detroit area firefighter in 2015, according to WJBK, and the resulting boycott of an upcoming IndyCar race sheds some light on the issue.
WJBK reports that local firefighters may boycott volunteering with the Crash Rescue Team at next month's Detroit Grand Prix after first responder Joel Barthlow suffered serious injuries during the 2015 edition of the race.
Barthlow was helping a driver who had been involved in a wreck that day when he was struck by another driver, suffering multiple injuries that included broken ribs, a collapsed lung and damage to his spleen and a kidney.
With his career as a first responder over, WJBK says it was told that the race car organizations were not stepping up to help with Barthlow's medical bills.
The Southfield Fire Fighters Union Local 1029 has submitted a resolution demanding the Detroit Grand Prix and the International Motor Sports Association provide medical, disability and liability insurance coverage for volunteers in the event of a tragedy like Barthlow's.
"Without professional firefighters out there doing this, big racing companies wouldn't be able to have the races because they wouldn't have us there," firefighter Rob Scott, president of Local 1029, told WJBK.
If medical, disability and liability insurance isn't offered, Scott says he's suggested that firefighters don't volunteer.
"Once (Barthlow) was taken to the hospital, people from the racing outlet team came down there and saw him and his family in the hospital," Scott said. "He was on life support and basically was told he'd be taken care of. And when Joel actually starting getting better, they turned and ran."
Barthlow's lawyer David Zuppke is suing IMSA -- the group that sanctions auto races, including those at the Grand Prix -- and was asked if Barthlow signed any type of waiver to volunteer that day.
"Joel stood in a line and was told to sign papers to get his race credentials," Zuppke told WJBK. "Little did he know, it was actually a legal document."
Everyone that belongs to the state firefighters union is on board with the boycott, according to WJBK, but some firefighters in Detroit have already put in to volunteer for the Crash Rescue Team. It is unclear if they knew about the boycott beforehand.
The race weekend is June 2-4 at Bell Isle Park.
