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Firefighters |
Altier & Vogt LLC
This portion of our website is dedicated to those that risk their lives
everyday to protect the lives and property of the New York City’s citizens.
Although firefighters call it "the job," it's much more than that. Firefighting is a calling. It's done by people dedicated to helping others. It's done not for the money, for no firefighter has ever obtained wealth by fighting fires, but for a desire to be a part of something truly noble. From everyone here at Altier & Vogt, thank you...
The attorneys here at Altier & Vogt have formed a special relationship with New York City firefighters. Throughout the last 15 years, we have represented many of you in your injury-related claims, real-estate closings, and estate work. We have also been a big supporter of firefighter related causes and will continue to do our part to thank all of you for what you do.
To further serve our firefighter clients, we have teamed with Laurie Galiato, an active firefighter, UFA delegate, & an attorney with 15 years of experience in meeting the legal needs of his fellow firefighters.
While a firefighter is doing his job, he is aware that at any moment he is in danger of getting injured. If he does get injured he thinks about how quickly he can get back to work. If he is injured badly enough to cause him a permanent disability, he may be entitled to a disability pension. Even if he’s lucky, and the disability does not ruin his quality of life, he often doesn’t think about the effect of all this on his family.
We are all responsible not only for ourselves, but for our families. When we get injured, so does our family. A fact of life is that money matters. We don’t think about the financial impact an injury can have on our family. For a firefighter, especially one who was working a second job to support his family, a career ending injury can be devastating. Even a tax-free disability pension may not be enough to support us and our families down the road.
So the question becomes: “What can a firefighter do to protect himself?” We know that sometimes, regardless of what precautions a firefighter takes, he is going to get injured anyway – it’s the nature of the job. In these cases, the best one can do is to protect himself financially. Often, that would involve making a claim against those responsible for the firefighter’s injury. Now, you may ask how you can hold someone else responsible when you get injured fighting a fire. After all, you know going into a fire that it’s dangerous, so aren’t you assuming the risk that you’ll be hurt. The answer is “Yes,” and “No.”
Below is a brief explanation of the law in New York State as it pertains to firefighters. As you’ll see, the law recognizes that there are times when, as a matter of public policy, the injured firefighter should be compensated by those responsible for causing his injury. The purpose of this law is two-fold: to compensate firefighters that are injured by those who violate the law; and, to punish those who violate the law by making them pay for their violations…
The Law
In New York State, there are two laws that give an injured firefighter the right to be compensated by whoever is responsible for their injury.
General Municipal Law 205a (GML 205a):
GML 205a has actually been around since the turn of the century (the 20th century). It allows an injured firefighter to make a claim for any damages he has suffered on the job as a result of violations of law that have caused him injury. This law was passed to protect firefighters who up until then were stopped from making claims by of a court-made law known as the “fireman’s rule.”
The “fireman’s rule” (now the “firefighter’s rule”) basically said that since a firefighter was trained for, and assumed the risk of firefighting, he or she should not be allowed to make a claim for his or her injuries. Realizing the harsh and unfair effects this rule had on firefighters, GML 205a was passed. Although a firefighter accepts certain risks, it’s wrong to make a firefighter bear the burden of the “extra” risk placed on him by someone who violates the law.
Because of court interpretations of GML 205a through the 1900s, the law got to a point where it became virtually useless in fixing the problems it was supposed to address. Finally, in 1996, through lobbying efforts spearheaded mainly by the PBA, the state legislature passed a new version of GML 205a making it clear that firefighters were to be compensated by law violators regardless of what type of law was broken or where the violation took place. This meant that firefighters who were injured: responding to fires (rig accidents); performing AFID; operating at fires; or, back in quarters were all covered under the law.
General Obligations Law 11-106 (GOL 11-106):
GOL 11-106 only became part of New York State law in 1996. This law completely eliminated the “firefighter’s rule” as it applied to anyone other than a firefighter’s employer. What GOL-106 basically did was put the firefighter in the same shoes as the ordinary citizen. In other words, a firefighter who is injured can recover for those injuries that were caused by someone else’s negligence under certain circumstances. In effect, the “firefighter’s rule” now only applies to situations where the firefighter’s employer’s negligence is a cause of the firefighter’s injury.
How Altier & Vogt LLC can help:
As in most things involving the law, it’s not always clear-cut as to whether a particular circumstance falls under GML 205a or GOL 11-106. Representing a firefighter in these cases is a specialty. In order to provide good representation, an attorney must be experienced in this particular area of the law. There are many pitfalls that can cause a firefighter to lose his right to make a claim altogether as some of you who have retained other attorneys have unfortunately found out.
Our attorneys are very experienced in GML 205a and GOL 11-106 cases. It’s one of the areas in which we specialize. One of our attorneys, Laurie Galioto is not only an active NYC firefighter, but is also a seasoned practitioner in the law as it pertains to firefighters, but is someone whom you know understands and can relate to what you’re going through.
We hope this information is helpful but remember to call us as soon as possible if you are injured. In some cases, there are strict time limitations within which you must start your claim.
Good luck and stay safe.
The PBA became involved because GML 205a technically gave only firefighters the right to make injury-related claims. As a result, GML 205e was enacted to give the same rights to police officers.
An injured firefighter may under certain circumstances still have a claim against his/her employer (City/Fire Department) due to the employer’s negligence. Whenever you are injured you should call us as soon as possible to discuss your options.
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The material contained in this website is not intended as legal advice, and you should not rely upon it being applicable to any specific issues you may have. All information contained in this website pertains to the law in the State of New York and to Federal law. |
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