The Chicago Tribune has reported that two adult children that lost their firefighting father in a blaze at a inadequately maintained Laundromat, have filed a wrongful death suit not against the fire department, but against the people that owned the building.
J.S. and E.S. Jr. have filed their suit against C.M.D. and R.D., the owners of the foreclosed South Shore Laundromat, Sing Way Cleaners. The two children that firefighter E.S., 47, left behind claim that his death was due to C.M.D. and R.D. failing to maintain their building properly.
E.S. was dispatched to a fire at the South Shore area Laundromat on December 22. Along with other firefighters, he entered the structure to begin fighting the flames. Other members of the fire department were tasked with the job of cutting holes in the Laundromat's roof to allow for ventilation.
The roof suddenly collapsed without warning. Along with E.S., firefighter C.A, 34, was also killed. Nineteen other firefighters were injured.
J.S., in claiming that her father's death was solely due to the building not being kept up to building codes, read from a prepared statement, "Neither my father nor his comrade would have died that day if this building had been properly secured, or better yet, torn down. The owner's negligence and his ignoring of citations created a tragedy."
Her hope is that the lawsuit she and her brother have filed will prompt change. She said that she wanted both stronger legislation and building codes enforced so that firefighters are better protected.
J.S. continued, "We know that when a fire strikes, firefighters always do their job, even if it means going into hazardous buildings. We need to protect our firefighters from the dangers of abandoned and neglected buildings by holding the owners accountable."
The surviving children hold no grudge, or fault, on the City or its Fire Department, and neither is named in the suit.
Peter J. Flowers, the attorney representing E.S. Jr. and J.S. said, "We thought that the Fire Department did a very good job in responding to this, as they normally do. We have absolutely no issues with their conduct. I think at this stage the city's doing what it can do, what it is able to do under the law. The law needs to be adjusted so the city has better enforcement techniques."
E.S.'s death certificate reads that he died from "compressional asphyxia from a roof collapse" and that information is disclosed in the lawsuit's notes.
The owners of Sing Way Cleaners were cited for individual citations - no less than 14 times - but the building was never repaired. Homeless people used it often as a shelter.
Loosing a loved one is never easy to come to grips with. Loosing a loved one in a wrongful death scenario is twice as difficult. If you believe that your loved one's death was preventable, and caused by the action - or inaction - of someone else, contact a personal injury lawyer from our directory to help you today!