Another screwed up lawsuit this one by cop

tyler811

Diamond Member
Jan 27, 2002
5,387
0
71
I cannot believe this


CASSELBERRY, Fla. (AP) ? A police officer who slipped and injured a knee responding to a toddler's near-drowning has sued the family of the 1-year-old boy, who suffered brain damage and can no longer walk, talk or swallow.

Casselberry Sgt. Andrea Eichhorn alleges Joey Cosmillo's family left a puddle of water on the floor, causing her fall during the rescue efforts. She broke her knee and missed two months of work.

The boy fell into the pool outside the family's home in suburban Orlando in January and now lives in a nursing home and eats and breathes through tubes.

"The loss we've suffered, and she's seeking money?" said Richard Cosmillo, 69, the boy's grandfather, who lived in the home with his wife and the boy's mother. "Of course there's going to be water in the house. He was sopping wet when we brought him in."

Eichhorn's attorney, David Heil, said she has persistent knee pain and will likely develop arthritis. He said city benefits paid by workers' compensation and some disability checks helped with medical bills, but it wasn't enough.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

"It's a situation where the Cosmillos have caused these problems, brought them on themselves, then tried to play the victim," Heil said.

Eichhorn's personnel file includes numerous commendations. The 12-year veteran has worked as a hostage negotiator and prostitution decoy and wrestled razors away from a suicidal person.

Police Chief John Pavlis said Eichhorn was a good officer, though he urged her not to sue.




NEW UPDATE:

another article on case

A 1 year-old child lay not breathing after being found in a pool. Officers responded to the scene and started CPR, one of those officers was Sergeant Andrea Eichhorn who slipped and fell breaking her knee. Now this officer is suing the child's family.
According to the police report (pdf. file) the child was alone at the home with his mother, Angela, at the time of the incident. She found the him floating in the pool and pulled him out and and called 911.

Police officers and EMS responded to the call, while on duty at that call officer Sgt. Andrea Eichhorn, the Detective Unit Supervisor slipped and fractured her knee on the wet floor.

The officer was treated for her injury and was out of work for about two months as a result, during the third month she was released back to work on light duty status.

During her time off she received full medical benefits, worker?s compensation care, her salary and accumulated sick and vacation time during her absence. She has been released for full duty though her injury still causes her some complaint.

Officer Eichhorn talked to her supervisors about filing legal action against the family. Her supervisors and the police legal department recommended against this course of action since she was fully covered for her injuries just as any other officer is while in the line of duty and it was an accident.

In a (doc. file) release to the media by the Casselberry Police Dept. this is a statement given by Chief John J. Pavlis.

?As Chief of Police I do not support the lawsuit filed by Sgt. Eichhorn and her attorney. The City of Casselberry through its workers comp carrier has covered the expenses associated with Sgt. Eichhorn?s on-the-job injury and is not a party to this action. What happened to the Sergeant was an accident. She has been compensated for all time off the job due to this injury.

My heart goes out to the Cosmillo family and in particular, little Joseph, and they are in my prayers.?

John J. Pavlis


So as she has hired a lawyer and is suing the family as a private individual. The basis for her suit is that the family did not clean up the water from the pool and therefore responsible for her fall.

The 1 year-old child, Joseph, suffered brain damage and is on a breathing tube and feeding tubes, and requires full 24 hour care in a nursing home at this time.

See grandparents on video at this link.

The mother, Angela, seems to have signed him over to her parents. The police report says she did not provide enough supervision to the child or he would not have been able to get out of the house and fall into the pool.

 

AgaBoogaBoo

Lifer
Feb 16, 2003
26,107
4
81
The officer is on duty, shouldn't the city have something to cover any issues like this?

He said city benefits paid by workers' compensation and some disability checks helped with medical bills, but it wasn't enough.

Why wouldn't it be enough? Makes me wonder if he tried to take extra time off or something and get more out of this than he needed, and is now passing it onto the family because his worker's comp and disability denied him.
 

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,145
10
81
ok hope she lose's and gets fired. talk about PR nightmare for the police station.
 

KB

Diamond Member
Nov 8, 1999
5,394
383
126
Geez, can't even call 911 anymore for fear of getting sued. Why bother dealing with anyone anymore. Everyone should just own 40 acres apart from each other and leave each other alone.

PS I am suing the OP for making me read their post. :)
 

alien42

Lifer
Nov 28, 2004
12,627
3,014
136
hopefully she will slip and fall on her way into court and this time land on her head.
 

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,647
26
91
What a cold-hearted biatch! Haven't the parents been through enough? :|
 

2Dead

Senior member
Feb 19, 2005
886
1
81
Originally posted by: alien42
hopefully she will slip and fall on her way into court and this time land on her head.

While still on her own property ;)
 

dabuddha

Lifer
Apr 10, 2000
19,579
17
81
Reading shit like this just depresses me. I mean wtf is wrong with people. She needs some face time with sweet lady brick :|
 

cardiac

Platinum Member
Oct 9, 1999
2,090
14
81
Unless you've worked for a municipality, you wouldn't understand. Our workers comp and health insurance sucks. If I get hurt on the job, it may not even cover all of my medical bills. She probably was NOT trying to take off extra time.

Also, I have to work 2 jobs to make ends meet. If I get hurt on the job, I get ZERO compensation from the other, part-time, job.

Thats what I get for being a firefighter/paramedic for almost 26 years....

I am glad you folks are so understanding here, too. Especially without the facts......

Bob
 

dabuddha

Lifer
Apr 10, 2000
19,579
17
81
Originally posted by: cardiac
Unless you've worked for a municipality, you wouldn't understand. Our workers comp and health insurance sucks. If I get hurt on the job, it may not even cover all of my medical bills. She probably was NOT trying to take off extra time.

Also, I have to work 2 jobs to make ends meet. If I get hurt on the job, I get ZERO compensation from the other, part-time, job.

Thats what I get for being a firefighter/paramedic for almost 26 years....

I am glad you folks are so understanding here, too. Especially without the facts......

Bob

Then she should sue the city or the department. WTF is she suing the family of the poor child.
 

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,647
26
91
Originally posted by: cardiac
Unless you've worked for a municipality, you wouldn't understand. Our workers comp and health insurance sucks. If I get hurt on the job, it may not even cover all of my medical bills. She probably was NOT trying to take off extra time.

Also, I have to work 2 jobs to make ends meet. If I get hurt on the job, I get ZERO compensation from the other, part-time, job.

Thats what I get for being a firefighter/paramedic for almost 26 years....

I am glad you folks are so understanding here, too. Especially without the facts......

Bob

Sorry, how does any of that have to do with slipping in a puddle of water and suing the parents?

OK, your benefits suck. SUE THE EFFIN' CITY THEN!
 

MartyMcFly3

Lifer
Jan 18, 2003
11,436
29
91
www.youtube.com
Originally posted by: cardiac
Unless you've worked for a municipality, you wouldn't understand. Our workers comp and health insurance sucks. If I get hurt on the job, it may not even cover all of my medical bills. She probably was NOT trying to take off extra time.

Also, I have to work 2 jobs to make ends meet. If I get hurt on the job, I get ZERO compensation from the other, part-time, job.

Thats what I get for being a firefighter/paramedic for almost 26 years....

I am glad you folks are so understanding here, too. Especially without the facts......

Bob

I work for a municipality and to me, based on that article, the lawsuit makes no sense. I'm sure her department is loving all the negative publicity they are getting from it and I'm sure she has a bright future with them.
 

PokerGuy

Lifer
Jul 2, 2005
13,650
201
101
How disgusting. That family has been (and will forever go) through hell, they've lost the most precious thing in their lives..... and this officer sues them for basically an injury sustained in the normal course of doing her job?? Ack, WTF is wrong with people?

I hope she loses the case, and if I was the judge, I'd also make her pay for the legal costs of the defense. :|
 

tyler811

Diamond Member
Jan 27, 2002
5,387
0
71
Originally posted by: cardiac
Unless you've worked for a municipality, you wouldn't understand. Our workers comp and health insurance sucks. If I get hurt on the job, it may not even cover all of my medical bills. She probably was NOT trying to take off extra time.

Also, I have to work 2 jobs to make ends meet. If I get hurt on the job, I get ZERO compensation from the other, part-time, job.

Thats what I get for being a firefighter/paramedic for almost 26 years....

I am glad you folks are so understanding here, too. Especially without the facts......

Bob

So TFW she and you choose that profession, no one forced her or you into that position. Before I take a job I make sure I know what benefits I have and what they cover.
I think she heartless c**t for doing this. She needs to sue to city to boost the coverage. She took away a razor from a suicide attempt, what happens if that person sliced her? You cannot expect as an officer to have a freakin donut on every call.


That being said cops and firefighters still do not make enough money.
 

tw1164

Diamond Member
Dec 8, 1999
3,995
0
76
Originally posted by: cardiac
Unless you've worked for a municipality, you wouldn't understand. Our workers comp and health insurance sucks. If I get hurt on the job, it may not even cover all of my medical bills. She probably was NOT trying to take off extra time.

Also, I have to work 2 jobs to make ends meet. If I get hurt on the job, I get ZERO compensation from the other, part-time, job.

Thats what I get for being a firefighter/paramedic for almost 26 years....

I am glad you folks are so understanding here, too. Especially without the facts......

Bob

Wouldn't you hire a Worker Comp lawyer to sue the workers comp insurance company?
 

Agentbolt

Diamond Member
Jul 9, 2004
3,340
1
0
Man, I'd pay 10 bucks to hear ONE non-negative cop story. I mean what the hell is wrong with these people? There's a new story every day about them doing something awful. They can't all be this bad. :(
 
Feb 10, 2000
30,029
66
91
Sheesh. Hopefully the family has homeowner's/renter's insurance to cover this. Frankly it seems to me she is suing for being injured in an entirely foreseeable way. Being a police officer is a dangerous job, and as others have stated, it seems to me that if she has a beef with the quality of the benefits she receives from her employer, she should pursue it with them.

In order to find the defendants here liable, she will have to show that they were negligent (that is, that their conduct departed from that of a reasonable person) and that she was injured as a result of their negligence. Frankly I think a jury will have a hard time finding that they should reasonably have focused on cleaning up a wet floor before calling 911 and attending to their apparently-dying toddler. I suppose if there is evidence that the toddler was injured through negligence, and that the whole call was necessitated by that, she might have an argument, but I would think most judges would try hard to kick out a claim like that as a matter of public policy, as it would discourage others from calling 911 in the event of an emergency.
 

Cuda1447

Lifer
Jul 26, 2002
11,757
0
71
Originally posted by: cardiac
Unless you've worked for a municipality, you wouldn't understand. Our workers comp and health insurance sucks. If I get hurt on the job, it may not even cover all of my medical bills. She probably was NOT trying to take off extra time.

Also, I have to work 2 jobs to make ends meet. If I get hurt on the job, I get ZERO compensation from the other, part-time, job.

Thats what I get for being a firefighter/paramedic for almost 26 years....

I am glad you folks are so understanding here, too. Especially without the facts......

Bob

Thats your job, your choice. Don't fucking sue someone who is 100% innocent cause you broke your knee. I fucking tore my ACL while playing basketball in my subdivision. Should I sue the management of the subdivision? I'll have a hell of a lot more long term problems than this bitch will.


If the city isn't taking care of her medical bills, thats one thing. But to fucking sue the parents of a kid who is brain dead, because she slipped on a puddle of water while DOING HER JOB. Come on. Fuck, that just pisses me off.
 
Feb 10, 2000
30,029
66
91
Apparently the Chief of Police has publically critiqued this suit:

?As Chief of Police I do not support the lawsuit filed by Sgt. Eichhorn and her attorney. The City of Casselberry through its workers comp carrier has covered the expenses associated with Sgt. Eichhorn?s on-the-job injury and is not a party to this action. What happened to the Sergeant was an accident. She has been compensated for all time off the job due to this injury.

My heart goes out to the Cosmillo family and in particular, little Joseph, and they are in my prayers.?

Chief of Police John J. Pavlis
 

Gooberlx2

Lifer
May 4, 2001
15,381
6
91
Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
The officer is on duty, shouldn't the city have something to cover any issues like this?

He said city benefits paid by workers' compensation and some disability checks helped with medical bills, but it wasn't enough.

Why wouldn't it be enough? Makes me wonder if he tried to take extra time off or something and get more out of this than he needed, and is now passing it onto the family because his worker's comp and disability denied him.

Makes me wonder too. I had a supervisor at my last job (public aquarium) who was bit by one of our rattlesnakes. Last I heard medical bills have totaled over 2 million dollars (almost died, 11 anti-venoms doses, 1 month going between PCU and ICU care, many surgeries with more to go and a long outlook of physical therapy, etc...), all of which is 100% covered by worker's comp. She's trying to say that worker's comp isn't adequately covering a busted knee? I know worker's comp varies by company, state and carrier...but c'mon.
 

Darwin333

Lifer
Dec 11, 2006
19,946
2,328
126
Originally posted by: cardiac
Unless you've worked for a municipality, you wouldn't understand. Our workers comp and health insurance sucks. If I get hurt on the job, it may not even cover all of my medical bills. She probably was NOT trying to take off extra time.

Also, I have to work 2 jobs to make ends meet. If I get hurt on the job, I get ZERO compensation from the other, part-time, job.

Thats what I get for being a firefighter/paramedic for almost 26 years....

I am glad you folks are so understanding here, too. Especially without the facts......

Bob

Look, I agree that we treat our first responders like shit, especially if they get hurt.

However, to sue the family she was responding to (Read: doing her job) because the family wasn't considerate enough to wipe up the water on the floor instead of tending to their injured child?
 

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,145
10
81
Originally posted by: Darwin333
Originally posted by: cardiac
Unless you've worked for a municipality, you wouldn't understand. Our workers comp and health insurance sucks. If I get hurt on the job, it may not even cover all of my medical bills. She probably was NOT trying to take off extra time.

Also, I have to work 2 jobs to make ends meet. If I get hurt on the job, I get ZERO compensation from the other, part-time, job.

Thats what I get for being a firefighter/paramedic for almost 26 years....

I am glad you folks are so understanding here, too. Especially without the facts......

Bob

Look, I agree that we treat our first responders like shit, especially if they get hurt.

However, to sue the family she was responding to (Read: doing her job) because the family wasn't considerate enough to wipe up the water on the floor instead of tending to their injured child?

yeah i am suprised to hear that we are not makeing sure first responders are covered if hurt on the job.

that needs to be fixed. if it cost me a extra $1 on my property tax's or so then fine.

BUT i do think this lawsuit is crap.