When it comes to civil liability, one of the biggest areas of concern to fire and emergency personnel is negligence. Negligence is a nonintentional tort or something that happens by accident. Most incident-related civil suits against fire departments or firefighters involve accusations of negligence.
As a guide, consider the following questions:
1. Research and define the term negligence and then discuss, by using examples, what it takes to be negligent.
2. Research and discuss immunity protections for firefighters and fire departments.
3. Research three court cases involving fire service related negligence. Try to find at least one case that involved immunity for the firefighter or fire department.
The information for each case must include the facts, the issues, the holdings, and the rationale of the case. Each is explained below:
A. What are the Facts of the case? The facts are the court’s explanation about what happened and the history of the case. Basically, what occurred and what caused the case to go to court.
B. What are the Issues with the case? The issue or issues is the legal question which the judge or judges have concluded must be addressed in order to decide the case.
C. What is the Holding or ruling of the court? The holding is essentially the court’s answer to the issue or issues that have been identified.
D. What is the Rationale by the court? The rationale is the reasoning stated by the court in reaching its conclusion.
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