An example of the litigious society we now live...
CARLSBAD
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed on behalf of 26 fire-fighters
and emergency medical personnel seeking damages from El Paso Natural
Gas Co. for emotional pain and suffering they say they suffered after
an August 2000 pipeline explosion.
The lawsuit was dismissed March 2 when U.S. District Court Judge issued
a ruling on a motion filed by the company. A spokeswoman for El Paso
Natural Gas, said “the company is obviously pleased that the suit was
dismissed,” but she had no further comment, saying the company would
release more information later.
Carlsbad Fire Chief Mike Reynolds declined to comment because the lawsuit
was a private issue between individuals and a company. In the ruling,
The federal judge said public policy bars the plaintiffs from recovering
damages because they were not injured while fighting the fire or responding
to the explosion and fire and that the plaintiffs admit they cannot
meet the requirements for negligent infliction of emotional distress.
The plaintiffs include members of the Carlsbad Fire Department and
the Loving, Otis and Joel volunteer fire departments.The defendant,
El Paso Natural Gas Co., had designed and built the pipeline in 1950.
Attorneys for the plaintiff alleged the company “never once” inspected
the pipeline for problems or routine maintenance.
The pipeline explosion happened early in the morning of Aug. 19, 2000,
killing 12 members of the 3 families. The victims, ranging in age from
6 months to 55 years, were camping about 200 yards from the 30-inch
pipeline when it exploded at 5:26 a.m.
State police estimated the resulting fireball reached 1,000 feet in
the air and left a crater 86 feet long, 46 feet wide and 20 feet deep.
The plaintiffs were among the first responders to the incident and
later described it as “a scene from hell,” adding that they endured
“traumatic and horrific experiences.” The federal judge stated in his
ruling that firefighting is an inherently risky job.
A provision in the law called the firefighter's rule states that a
firefighter or police officer is prohibited from recovering damages
for injuries arising from the normal, inherent and foreseeable risks
of his profession. Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued an exception
should be made in this rule for wilful and wanton conduct. The federal
judge states in his ruling that such an exception may be made, but that
the law is unclear and varies from state to state and case to case.
Another basis on which the plaintiffs filed was for negligent intentional
emotional distress. The law allows for several factors for the plaintiffs
to be able to recover for this, the federal judge states.
The federal judge said the plaintiffs admit they do not meet the criteria
to recover damages, which include being related to the victims, suffering
severe shock at the scene and that the accident caused the physical
injury or death of the victims. Efforts to expand the scope of the law
must be made by New Mexico courts and not by court decisions, Lynch
stated in his ruling.
In the conclusion, he wrote that public policy bars the plaintiffs
from recovering damages because they were not hurt in the explosion
or the fire itself, but had suffered emotional distress while helping
those who were hurt or killed. |
