Law
Alan recently bought his dream vacation home in the mountains, a “fixer-upper” with a deck that jutted out over the river. During the summer and fall he worked on outdoor repairs, including replacing many, but not all, of the rotted railings on the wooden deck. In January, Alan invited his friend Todd, a licensed electrician, to his home for the weekend. They planned for Todd to do some needed indoor wiring and for both of them to get in some skiing.
After working indoors all day, Todd was relaxing on the outdoor deck. When Todd leaned against the railing it felt a little loose and wobbly, but he straddled the railing to get a better view of the icy river. Within thirty seconds, the railing gave way and Todd fell into the water. Alan heard a scream and a crash, raced outside, and saw that the railing had collapsed. As Alan ran down the steps he yelled to his wife to call 911.
Alan jumped into the water but could not rescue Todd. Within ten minutes the Township Volunteer Emergency Squad arrived. The only means of reaching the men was from the river bank. The ambulance did not have any rescue ropes on board, but did have a ladder. One Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Larry, waded into the river with the ladder to try to reach the men, but he tripped and was swept away by the current. Since the ambulance was not equipped with any means of rescue, the second EMT immediately called the 911 operator to ask for the firefighters’ assistance.
The firefighters arrived forty-five minutes later, because the 911 operator had given them the incorrect address. Upon arrival, the firefighters used their 200-foot long ropes and rescued all three men.
All three men suffered permanent physical injury as a result of being in the water for more than thirty minutes. They file suit. They learn during discovery that there is no specific, state-mandated requirement for equipping an ambulance with 200-foot long rescue ropes and that the Emergency Squad receives some funding from the Township.
Prepare a memorandum discussing all causes of action against the 911 operator, the EMT and the Emergency Squad.
