Negligence on the part of Federal Signal Corp. led to hearing loss
Attorney Todd O'Malley of O'Malley & Langan Law Offices is representing 70 active and retired Scranton, Dunmore and Wilkes-Barre firefighters in their case against a negligent siren manufacturer.
The five lawsuits we have filed in Lackawanna County Court claim that our clients suffered hearing loss, commonly called "firefighter's notch," as a result of negligence on the part of Federal Signal Corporation. Federal Signal manufactured the Q-Siren and e-Q2B models of sirens that were used on firetrucks in Scranton, Dunmore and Wilkes-Barre.
While sirens are obviously intended to be loud, there are ways to limit the risk of hearing loss to emergency responders. Instead, these sirens exposed the firefighters to high-intensity sounds within a narrow frequency range that can cause permanent hearing loss. Moreover, the company was developing a "shroud" device that would reduce rearward noise and bring the sound exposure for the firefighters back into the acceptable range, but failed to inform the fire departments of that device.
A long and winding road to compensation for these firefighters
The lawsuits filed by these Lackawanna County firefighters are among many complaints filed by firefighters around the nation against Federal Signal. Originally, these lawsuits were filed in Illinois, where the company is based, but earlier this year, an Illinois judge ordered that these suits needed to be filed in the states where the injuries actually took place.
Federal Signal has vowed to aggressively defend against these complaints, and these firefighters have been living with significant hearing loss for years while waiting to be appropriately compensated. We're committed to pursuing these product liability lawsuits in Lackawanna County and fighting for the fair compensation that these men who have put their lives on the line deserve.
