Pasadena, the city that controlled the dispatch center that sent two apparatus to a fire that collided in Monterey has been named in a lawsuit filed by two people injured in the April 16 crash.
According to a news report in The San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena officials are surprised their city has become a party in the lawsuit.
Pasadena City Attorney Michele Beal Bagneris told the newspaper that, at first blush, Pasadena doesn’t likely have any liability in the suit, but it was an interesting basis for alleging liability. She said one would expect the cities who own the trucks and the city in which the collision occurred in might be named in a lawsuit, but not the city that conducted the dispatching.
In April a Monterey Park engine and a ladder truck from Alhambra collided while on the way to a fire in Monterey Park. Six firefighters were among the 15 people hurt in the crash which forced the engine into a restaurant.
The lawsuit against Pasadena was filed by a 52-year-old man who was pinned between the restaurant and the Monterey Park engine and a 23-year-old waiter in the restaurant, according to the newspaper.
The 52-year-old man lost a leg, suffered a brain injury as well as genital injuries, facial fractures and broken bones. The waiter suffered a severe back injury.
The lawsuits against Pasadena seek more than $25,000 in damages for each client for medical expenses, property damage, legal fees and lost earnings, the newspaper reported.
Five separate lawsuits have previously been filed against Monterey Park and Alhambra seeking damages for negligence, the newspaper reported.
