Posted on 10/10/2007 9:40:10 AM PDT by Abathar
CASSELBERRY - In January, 1-year-old Joey Cosmillo wandered into the backyard and fell into the family pool. When his mother hauled him out, he wasn't breathing. Rescuers were able to bring him back to life, but he suffered severe brain damage and cannot walk, talk or even swallow.
Now, his family faces another burden: One of the rescuers, Casselberry police Sgt. Andrea Eichhorn, is suing, alleging the family left a puddle of water on the floor that afternoon, causing her to slip and fall.
The boy's grandparents, named in the suit, are mystified and angry.
"The loss we've suffered, and she's seeking money?" said Richard Cosmillo, 69, the boy's grandfather. "Of course there's going to be water in the house. He was sopping wet when we brought him in."
Eichhorn last week sued Richard Cosmillo; his wife, Maggie Cosmillo; and the boy's mother, Angela Cosmillo, accusing them of negligence. They were careless, according to the suit, and allowed the home they shared to become unsafe.
As a consequence, Eichhorn broke her knee, something that kept her off the job for two months, according to police Chief John Pavlis.
Joey now lives in a nursing home five miles away, where he gets 24-hour care. He breathes through one tube. He's fed through another.
"He doesn't have any abilities -- any," his grandmother said. "He can't sit. He can't swallow. He can't eat. We're not even sure he can see." and Richard Cosmillo are the boy's legal guardians. For the first two months after the accident, she remained at his bedside, never once going home.
(Excerpt) Read more at orlandosentinel.com ...
On the news last night it was reported that the police chief does not support the lawsuit
Lawyers are empowered by greedy people.
“I didn’t notice from the story that the child had a father. Did I miss something there?”
If this isnt “conduct unbecoming of an officer”....what is?
I just saw this story on Fox News and I want to break stuff now. What an evil rotten witch. Her and the lawyer should be thrown in prison, for harassing this poor family.
A worker's comp carrier can try to subrogate against a third party if there's a possibility of liability/negligence other than the employer. For example, if you're a carpenter working for a construction company, but the ladder you're climbing breaks because of faulty materials or construction, your employer's worker's comp carrier will go after the general liability carrier for the ladder manufacurer. I suspect that's what's going on here...Some municipalities, particularly the larger ones, are self-insured for either worker's comp, liability or both, and may be leaving the officer hanging out to dry with her medical bills.
Having said all that, I think suing the family is an unmitigated act of the highest sleaziness.
If the WC isn't paying her bills then she needs to go after them with a lawyer, not the homeowner. Standing where the EMT's were administering CPR on a drowning victim and then slipping in the water should directly fall under WC, she needs to go after them, not the panicked family members who quite frankly at that moment would give a rats *ss if the police were there afterwords or not, much less a couple of cups of water on the floor.
I can't believe that she would go through with this knowing what the other officers she has to work with must feel about it deep down inside, with the publicity she is getting I bet she retires soon.
She dropped her suit.
One lawyer in town = He drives a Yugo
Two lawyers in town = They both drive Mercedes Benzes
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