Family of fallen firefighter sue truck makers and service providers

By Amy Teeple

Published on June 09, 2006

The lawsuit alleges that LaFrance LLC, Freightliner LLC, Patriarch Partners LLC, Dalmatian Corp. and DaimlerChrysler Corp. designed the ladder truck with a defective door latch system. The lawsuit also claims that the truck's makers did not properly warn consumers of the dangerous defect. Amarillo Truck Center, a vehicle dealer and service provider, was also named in the lawsuit for negligence in performing repairs to the previously malfunctioning door latch.

In April 2005, Christopher Brian Hunton, an Amarillo firefighter, was en route to a call when he fell from his company's fire truck. Hunton was in the rear-facing passenger seat directly behind the driver's seat. As the truck rounded a turn, the left rear passenger door flew open and Hunton was ejected from the moving vehicle. He was reportedly not wearing a seatbelt. Hunton, 27, died two days later from his injuries.

The lawsuit also challenges the constitutionality of the state's $750,000 cap on punitive damages in a product liability suit.

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