Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 29, 1993 TAG: 9304290040
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Donald R. Shelton's case has been to the Virginia Supreme Court for arguments over the so-called "fireman's rule," which holds that firefighters and police officers assume certain risks and cannot sue for injuries sustained in the line of duty.
The Supreme Court carved an exception in the rule that allowed Shelton a second trial. But a jury decided not to award damages after a three-day trial that ended Wednesday in Roanoke Circuit Court.
Shelton, a retired fire captain, was hurt in 1987 when the firetruck he was riding in was responding to an alarm at a Franklin Road restaurant.
The truck - with red lights flashing and siren sounding - was passing through a red light at Franklin Road and Brandon Avenue when it was hit by a car.
Shelton, who suffered injuries to his neck and shoulder, blamed the driver of the car. He sued Mark Overstreet for $500,000.
At the first trial, a judge threw out the case based on the fireman's rule. But in a November decision, the Supreme Court held that the rule does not apply to a third party with no relation to the fire or other emergency. The rule still prevents lawsuits against parties involved in an incident to which police or firemen were responding.
The Supreme Court remanded the case to Roanoke for a new trial.
David Hart, a Roanoke lawyer who represented Overstreet, said his client's view of the approaching firetruck was blocked by a bus in an adjacent lane as he pulled into the intersection.
Hart also questioned whether Shelton's injuries were a result of the accident. "We don't think, if he is a broken man, that we broke him," Hart told the jury.
by CNB