Pa. Firefighter Sues Over 2006 Rescue Injuries
Source The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
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Oct. 07--A Dunmore firefighter suffered disabling injuries on a rescue call through the negligence of a priest who took a group of students from St. Gregory's Academy on a hiking trip over treacherous terrain that ended when a 14-year-old boy fell off a cliff, a lawyer for the firefighter told a Lackawanna County jury Thursday.
The former firefighter, Michael Snyder, who was struck on the head by a rock while trying to rescue the boy in February 2006, is seeking more than $1 million in damages to cover medical expenses and lost wages. The suit names as defendants St. Gregory's Academy, the Rev. Thomas Maximilian Longua and the Establishment of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.
In opening statements Mr. Snyder's lawyer, Howard M. Levinson, said Father Longua's failure to properly supervise the students he took on a hike up "Holiday Inn Mountain" in Dunmore was the cause of the accident. If the students had been properly supervised, the boy would not have been injured and the 911 rescue call would not have happened, he reasoned. Mr. Snyder was hit in the head by a rock that had been dislodged by a stretcher loaded with medical supplies, as it was lowered from the top of a cliff.
Defense attorney Gary Stewart suggested it was not Father Longua's fault that Mr. Snyder was injured, but Mr. Snyder's fault. Mr. Stewart asked the jury if the firefighter broke "common sense safety rules" when he stood under the basket that was being lowered from above.
The rock fell about 20 feet, landing on Mr. Snyder's helmet, cracking it, knocking Mr. Snyder 15 feet down an embankment until he caught a tree and hung upside down until rescuers reached him.
The boy recovered from his injuries and is now a college student in Texas. Mr. Snyder was treated at a local hospital and released on the night of the accident but has since undergone multiple surgeries and racked up more than $250,000 in medical bills, his lawyer said, adding Mr. Snyder has outstanding liens of $390,000. This means the first $390,000 of any judgment in his favor would be spent by Mr. Snyder to reimburse Workers' Compensation and Heart and Lung disability.
Before the accident, Mr. Levinson said Mr. Snyder was "probably the strong guy in the Fire Department" but now "he can't do that anymore." He said the accident traumatized Mr. Snyder's "entire spinal column," leaving him with shooting pains "like an electric shock."
Mr. Stewart told the jury Mr. Snyder had problems with pain before the accident and suffered from a congenital condition. Three months before the accident, Mr. Stewart said, Mr. Snyder had gone to a doctor and was taking powerful painkillers.
The trial is expected to end late next week. Testimony resumes this morning before Judge Carmen Minora.
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