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In a Hebron Commissioner's meeting tonight their Town Attorney, Tony Gorski & Steve Cox stated a letter from Attorneys Bledsoe & Goldtorpe, P.A., sent regarding potential legal action regarding the accident involving the Fire Department vehicle and the woman who was killed.
The Hebron Attorney stated the location of the accident was not in Town limits. They went on to say the Fire Department is not funded by the Town of Hebron and the roads are County and State roads.
The Grand Jury was supposed to hear this case a week ago but has been delayed till next week. That doesn't change the fact that the Family has chosen to send out letters of intent, usually meaning a lawsuit will soon follow.
It looks like the multitude of problem in Wicomico County aren't going to go away any time soon. This could mean the County will be named in the lawsuit and this one could be very costly for the Taxpayers.
Obviously there will be more to come on this story as everyone has tried to keep this as quiet as possible but I knew there was no way this one was going to just go away. More to come......
48 comments:
Joe, could you explain why it matters if they are county and state roads, and why the county could be named in the lawsuit? Thanks
The hebron atty. is a little misleading by his comment. The roads within hebron town limits are their roads. They are incorporated. They just turn their highway user revenue over to the county for them to maintain the roads because they dont have the means. Same with pittsville and willards. However, Lillian St is a State maintained roadway.
Hebron wants out of any liability. Their Fire Department is all Volunteer, therefore the County is responsible for the Fire Department's actions. The roads are simply County and State Roads. That being said, the Attorneys representing the Town of Hebron will deny any liability and voted of such this evening.
I don't see how the County is responsible for their actions either. They're a private corporation, just like the other County Fire/EMS agaencies. I just don't see how any other entity is liable. Just because they receieve County funds does not mean they fall under any County umbrella.
It involved a Fire Rescue Vehicle. Someone is liable and if the Town denies liability, the County is next. It's common sense.
I realize what it involved. But it is NOT owned by the County. Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm sure the vehicles owned by the Fire Department are insured by the Fire Department. Explain how anyone other than the Fire Department should be held responsible?
Joe:
It sounds like they didn't go into closed session in Hebron to discuss this nonsense -- if so, that's really open government, unlike in Salisbury, where any discussion of a possible suit, however groundless, is done by the Council behind closed doors at the command of Barrie Tilghman!
PS - perhaps you could tell us why that ambulance chaser thinks that the Town is liable in any manner whatsoever.
Common Sense my foot. Neither the County or the town is liable for the actions of a private corporation. You have no idea what you are talking about. The farmin are gonna eat this one.
HP
Nobody is liable because nobody (still living) did anything wrong. The poor woman pulled out in front of an emergency vehicle that had the right of way. End of story. NO WAY a Grand Jury indites anyone. The family might get a token from the FD's insurance if they settle out of court. That don't have much of a case in court, as there is no witness to refute the EMT's story. Oh, yea, I thought you said that the family said they were not going to sue. I guess they lied to you. This was a terrible tragedy and I feel sorry for the family. Maybe others with elderly drivers in their family will learn from this and get grandma and grandpa to go to a driving skills refresher, or have them hang up their keys altogether.
I'll bet local ff is Wayne.
Sir:
You said: "this could mean the County will be named in the lawsuit and this one could be very costly for the Taxpayers." What's your basis for that speculation ("could be very costly . . .")?
Any judge worth his/her salt should throw that case out PDQ.
Another question -- who is the "Expert" in your 9:52 comment?
local FF said...
Nobody is liable because nobody (still living) did anything wrong. The poor woman pulled out in front of an emergency vehicle that had the right of way. End of story. NO WAY a Grand Jury indites anyone. The family might get a token from the FD's insurance if they settle out of court. That don't have much of a case in court, as there is no witness to refute the EMT's story. Oh, yea, I thought you said that the family said they were not going to sue. I guess they lied to you. This was a terrible tragedy and I feel sorry for the family. Maybe others with elderly drivers in their family will learn from this and get grandma and grandpa to go to a driving skills refresher, or have them hang up their keys altogether.
9:42 PM
You feel sorry for the family, but in the same breath you are attacking them and their deceased family member by calling someone "grandma and grandpa." You are a FUCKING IDIOT and you need to rot in hell.
That moron driving that that Ford Explorer murdered that poor lady and there is no question about it. He was told numerous times not to drive that Paramedic Chase unit and he still took the vehicle on calls when he wasn't needed. He is not a Paramedic and he had no business driving that vehicle. If he would have listened to orders by not driving that vehicle he wouldn't have been on that road driving recklessly and exceeding the speed limit. His negligence and actions caused a wrongful death and I hope the family and the attorneys are reading this blog. Bush, you drunk bastard, your fire department empire days and 15 minutes of fame are slowly disappearing. Bush, how much training do you have to qualify you as the chief? Are you sober tonight?
Anonymous 10:44, that's none of your business. The State Police know though.
They can "name" anybody in the lawsuit they want. When it comes down to it, the insurance company for the fire dept will be the one doing battle. Period.
there can be civil suits and there will probably be one for the driver of the ems vehicle, but that will drag on & on & on. And probably not much come of it.
As for your so called "expert" at the scene, I take that to be you per a previous post where you spent "several" hours at the scene conducting your own investigation.
Give us a break.
It was a tragedy for everyone. And a sad day all the way around.
Joe, If the county did not self insure the vehicle they will not be named in the lawsuit. If they did, they will. It's that simple. Some jurisdictions do self insure all fire department vehicles. Both what the county owns and what the individual volunteer fire company corporations own. It is then both the county and the fire company are named in lawsuits that are involving motor vehicle accidents. The fire company alone will be responsible for this lawsuit if they are reponsible for their insurance. Then, most likely, only the insurance company will eat the damages of the lawsuit. That is why we have insurance.
Joe, a bit of advice to you. I would refrain from holding judgement on matters like this. You could be held accountable, for what you say.
Mike W.
hey bob woodward, your headline makes no sense...
Joe, Delmar was involved in a similiar lawsuit a few years ago. Thankfully, nobody was killed. The member involved was charged with for the accident. The parties named in the lawsuit were the individual in the accident, the fire chief, and the corporation. The town of Delmar, nor the county were named. As it turns out, the judge ruled in favor of the fire department, only because the gentlemen filing the suit got greedy and was asking for millions of dollars.
An attorney's usual MO is to cast a wide net and sue everyone and their brother and then eveyone has to sort it out later.
As far as suing the county and the county being on the hook, I am sure the lawyers have looked into the situation, and they wouldn't be filing paperwork with Hebron. Also, if it was/is well known by the Hebron council that the dude was told not to use the vehicle and that he had a propensity to drive drunk, then the town is definately on the hook because they should have been more proactive in keeping dude off the street.
Finally, lawyers usually only get involved when insurance companies fail to do their job.
It could indeed be expensive for the county.
one last time. The fire departments in the county are private corparations. Town's like hebron, pittsville,delmar, fruitland etc. Do not have ANY power or say so in the operations of their respective vol. fire company. The only exception is with the Salisbury Fire Department. The Chief does report to the mayor and council. The county fire chief's report to NO one except their departments respective board of directors..
Do those Hebron officials OR the town attorneys know about the Open Meetings Law or that this should have been done in a closed meeting? They put this legal matter out there at a public meeting -- how crazy is that? Did their lawyers go to law school?
teacherlady--
really........Hebron officials told the firehouse dude not to drive the vehicle and the also knew of his propensity for drinking? Bet there's a directive somewhere on this and it's going to bite Hebron officials in the butt!Wow, those Hebron officials better get their story straight!
You and you buddies can grandstand and blame this firefighter trying to do volunteer service for his community all you want, but it wont matter. This was an unfortunate tragedy, and now the family is trying to become golddiggers over it. I bet that poor woman it turnig over in her grave over her familys actions. The simple truth is- unless there is concrete evidence of severe negligence- ie- a DUI or a video of extremely unsafe driving- the EMT is going to be given the benefit of the doubt on this as far as criminal charges go. For every expert the state has demonstrating fault, the FD ins co will have 2 stating the deceased was at fault. Their exposure on this is at least a million, so they will have one of their heavy hitter hotshot lawyers- who defends against stuff like this all the time- handling this. The state will have some 3rd or 4th string wet behind the ears ADA, who never handled a case like this on the job, now that Rurak is out of the picture. The young EMT will be testifying in his FD dress uniform, probably still using a cane or crutches to walk. His testimony of what happened will match the forensic evidence presented by their accident reconstructionist. The other driver obviously cannot refute a word they say. The Grand Jury will WANT TO BELIEVE THIS YOUNG MAN, and they will. There will be NO INDITEMENT. Mark my words!
Anonymous said...
Do those Hebron officials OR the town attorneys know about the Open Meetings Law or that this should have been done in a closed meeting? They put this legal matter out there at a public meeting -- how crazy is that? Did their lawyers go to law school?
8:48 AM
Prima facie, it looks stupid, but I think that it is Hebron's attempt to diffuse any potential allegations that they are covering something up. You have to remember that this whole thing is nothing but a powder keg that could blow at any minute.
Joe Albero - 9:52 P.M.---Do you know why you get such little respect? Your language is atrocious - use some respect to your readers or lose them. An apology is in order.
anonymous 9:35, I do apologize if my language has offended you. There are times when I see an Idiot like local ff making stupid statements and that goes for his 9:03 comment as well. Do send me your e-mail address so I can tone it down and send you a bill for a subscription for my services though?
teacherlady--I don't live in Hebron, but want to know if it's possible that Town officials did have prior knowledge of the situation with the guy in the fire dept vehicle. If so, they're toast!
town officials have no say over who drives the fd vehicles. the town dosent own the them the fd does.
Joe, It is pretty awful that you will sit here and basically accuse this fireman of murder and being a drunk driver but when I post a comment that even refers to Davis Ruark you won't post it. So are you saying to me that because you think he is going thru some tuff times it was ok for him to drink and drive just as long as he does not have an accident. I am confused Joe please explain how you can run down fireman every where but when it comes to your buddies doing the same thing you accuse them of it does not seem to be as big an issue for you.
Davis made a mistake, yes. However, someone was in fact killed in Hebron.
Joe I understand that someone was killed in Hebron alot of lives were affected by that. Drunk drivers kill people around the United States everyday by the thousands. You have been the judge and jury for this fireman since the first day the accident occured. Suppose that Mr. Ruark had an accident that evening that injured or killed someone. Would you still be shouting praise for him? Don't get me wrong I have nothing againist Mr Ruark. What I do have a problem with is drunk driving period. Let the courts decide what happens to this fireman not SBYNEWS and Joe Albero. I know you have a right to your opinion but damn the firemen bashing gets old.
Let me make this VERY clear to ALL of you right here and now.
Davis Ruark made a huge mistake and quite frankly, I too am not at all happy about his choices that evening.
As I cannot expose ALL that I know about the situation that evening, I will say that I do happen to know private information that has NOT been exposed, nor should it be. In short, I do not drink but if I were in his shoes that evening and got the information he received, (no, it had nothing to do with his office losing a court case) I may have started drinking again myself.
Now, because I cannot and will not expose just what happened I'll simply say this and I make NO excuses. Davis Ruark was absolutely 100% wrong that evening, period. However, he did NOT kill someone and the driver in Hebron was sober. I NEVER stated or even came close to suggesting he had been drinking, so don't even go there any more.
Let me be even more frank with you. Remember how Dinono's Pizza 30 minute delivery guarantee? I personally have a VERY serious problem with the point system, (or whatever it's called) in Fire Departments where you get credit IF you make it to a call. I'm told you need to have a certain amount of credits or points to stay active.
The problem "I" see is exactly what we saw in Hebron. I'm told this young man was at School that day, got to the Fire Station some 10 to 11 minutes AFTER everyone had arrived to the scene, got in the emergency vehicle and took off to the scene. Probably to keep points/credits?
It's a flawed system, IMO as obviously Fire Fighters are racing to the Fire Stations and or even to the scene and I say he did so in a rescue vehicle probably because he could have received credits that way and would have received NONE if he was in a personal vehicle.
Anyhow, what happened, IMO in Hebron was completely out of line and this young man too will be judged by several people with serious wisdom in a Grand Jury. He will have his day, as will Davis Ruark.
No One should Drink and Drive, period. There are NO EXCUSES and in today's society, yes, even Davis Ruark should have known better. I consider Davis Ruark my friend and I will support my friend respecting the fact he has GIVEN 20 years of service to Wicomico County for peanuts. On the open market as a private attorney, take a wild guess what he'd be worth, even after this situation? My guess, at least $400.00 to $450.00 per hour! He wants to continue SERVING Wicomico County and many are forgetting that. He could go elsewhere in a New York Second and he chooses to fight the fight, face his worst fears, learn from his huge mistake and make things right. Now that to me is as honorable as you get.
Stoning him for standing up to all of you is sad, IMO. The Daily Times and Barrie Tilghman want to crush the man and all of you are falling for it and forgetting he is human and has served all of you for 20 years. Then there's all the enemies he has made by prosecuting thousands of people who anonymously get on here and the DT and bash him to no end. That's easy. The TOUGH part is standing up like a man as his friend and defending his position, which I have done and will continue to do.
He made a mistake, he's paying the price for that, he manned up to his situation, he asked for no favors and he did NOT kill someone. That's my opinion anyway.
What kind of FRIEND are YOU?
WELL JOE THAT WAS A WONDERFULL THING FOR YOU TO SAY AND DO FOR AN APPERANT CLOSE FRIEND. HOWEVER DAVIS IS NOT MY FRIEND RAY LEWIS IS BUT YOU WILL NOT POST SIMMILAR COMMENTS ABOUT HIM.I FEEL THE SAME WAY ABOUT RAY AS YOU DO DAVIS. EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT DAVIS PUT POEPLES LIVES AT RISK AND RAY DID NOT , IM SURE YOU WILL NOT POST THIS. BY THE WAY I AM NOT RAYS SISTER.
Davis is in a position where he has fewer "friends" every time a judge drops the gavel and says GUILTY. Davis is aware of the best parts of society liking him and the seedier side wishing bad things on him! He's done far more good than the weight of his error in judgement. For those calling for his head on a platter perhaps you should post your criminal record or maybe those of you family and friends! Let he without sin cast the first stone! But,worry not his grace is sufficient for the sins of all until the end of time!
so the drinking and driving law should be changed to say if its your first offense everyone gets one error in judgment?
Joe, you continue to display your total ignorance of the fire service. Yes, you get credit for making it to the firehouse for a call, but the credit is the same if you make it there in 2 minutes and out on a piece, or 30 seconds before that piece pulls back in the firehouse. You see, there is a alot of work to be done after the call too. But you wouldn't know, since you chose to remain clueless about the fire service, and continue to bash honorable people, because you think it adds to your precious hit count.
most people who get a firse offense DUI do not get a PJB, Joe! That is a completely stupid statment. A PBJ completely drops off your record as far as a conviction goes, usually in 12-24 months, or less if the judge says so. If that was case and you PBJ'ed a DUI first offense, and got another one in 25 months, you could PBJ that one as DUI first offense, and so on, FOREVER. Obvious that doesn't happen. PBJ's usually go to people who the evidence was very weak on and whould would probably get acquitted in a trial, or people who get hooked up by being in the good 'ol network, like a certin person's son. Ask your buddy Mike Lewis if you don't believe me.
Gee, by all these comments, the Hebron attorney should never have brought this forward in open meeting! It is clear that Hebron has already made more than its share of mistakes lately: the ridiculous development project, the WWTP problems, and on and on. Now their own attorney opens HEbron up for more problems....smooth move there on the lawyer's part--not.
Again, Hebron officials are the gang who can't shoot straight. They appear to be simply stupid and ignorant.
Joe, I commend you for being a man and standing up for your friend even though you know he was wrong no matter what the circumstances. As far as what you have heard and what people have told you about the fireman in the accident that is called hear say evidence and it is not admissable in a court of law. Leave the case to the courts stop casting stones at the Fire Depts. and their members that have been serving their communites for well over 50 and some even 100 years for free not even for peanuts. You see you make a big case about your friend which I have said I commend you for but it seems to me that you are making it out that since Mr Ruark has been serving Wicomico County for 20 years that he has earned the right for the residents respect. Which I would agree with in the same token the Fire Depts have also served the county for a long period of time and I would say they have earned some respect also. I am not attacking anyone here but it is not up to us to determine guilt or innocense it is up to the courts. That goes for the Hebron Fire Dept. and Davis Ruark.
Oh and really Joe it does not matter what a man would be worth on the open market for his service. It's like antiques and baseball cards the books can say what they are worth but truly they are only worth what someone is willing to pay for them. A mans worth is not judged by what he has but by his actions. You don't have to have millions of dollars to be an honorable well thought of man.
Good day to you Sir.
Somebody from Hebron: please tell us why there is such a failure of Hebron leaders to be forward-thinkers on many issues. They seem to circle the wagons at every opportunity and dig in their heels no matter if they are dead wrong. A very strange town with very strange leaders.
You really need to get a good shrink to help you oversome this hatred and jealosy of firefighters you have.
to the one who bashes bush as chief.he has been chief for 10-15 years.can you find a chief in the county more qualify than him..you must know him you call him by his nickname...why not put your name to your comment.big people like you use anonymous. doug t. hebron...
she didnt try to get over joe she was comming out of s intersection she pulled out u dick
she didnt try to get over joe she was comming out of s intersection she pulled out u dick
It's no wonder they call so many of the Hebron FF's Tards!
She wasn't pulling out of an intersection, you Tard! Now go back and sober up, (it is a Friday night in Hebron) and in the morning try all over again. What an Idiot! Oh, Dick!
Or is your name, U. Dick?
Wrong again, U. Dick!
She was heading SOUTH bound and was going to turn left. However, she saw the rescue vehicle at a high rate of speed coming at her NORTH bound heading towards Rt. 50. The IDIOT in the rescue vehicle did an Indi 500 move and went low around the curve because of his high rate of speed. He was in the ONCOMING land and hit her head on while she even attempted to pull off the road on HER side of the road.
So, STFU you Idiot. GD you guys drink a lot!
WELL I AM A NEW RESIDENT IN THE VILLAGE AND VERY IMPRESSED WITH ALL THE VILLAGE HAS. THE COMMUNITY EVENTS AND THE DOWN TO EARTH PEOPLE IN IT I REALLY THINK ALL OF YOU NEGATIVE PEOPLE SUCH MOVE ON. BUT AGAIN I AM JUST PERSON.
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