Siren Maker to Pay $425K to Chicago Firefighters

Come on, isn't there some better way to prevent this. It's inherent to the fire service that you will be exposed to siren sounds. Prevention should have been instituted long ago to prevent this. It's like suing the gun manufacturer after you shoot your self in the foot. A lot of steps have been taken with vehicle manufacturing to move sirens so that the occupants are not exposed to the high decibels. A little self preservation would have them wearing proper hearing protection, it's like the excuses for not wearing seat belts. Sounds more like the lawer may have needed the work, this will open the door for others to follow?

Siren Maker to Pay $425K to Chicago Firefighters
ROB OLMSTEAD Chicago Daily Herald
Link: Jury hits Oak Brook siren maker for damaging firefighters' hearing
A Cook County jury hit an Oak Brook siren maker with a $425,000 judgment, ruling the company's siren damaged nine firefighters' hearing needlessly. FULL STORY


A Cook County jury hit an Oak Brook siren maker with a $425,000 judgment, ruling the company's siren damaged nine firefighters' hearing needlessly.
The case is the first of its type that Federal Signal has lost, and it represents a huge litigation liability for the company because at least 3,500 other firefighters have lawsuits pending. The company vowed to appeal, according to a news release.
The verdict, rendered Friday, came after the firefighters -- all of Chicago -- argued through their attorney Jordan Margolis that the company could have designed a safer siren using a higher frequency. That was a shift in strategy after Margolis lost a similar lawsuit in April
2008, when he alleged the company had improperly warned or failed to warn firefighters of the danger to hearing.
Margolis said the company disputed that it owed a duty to firefighters; that it saw the end user of its product as the towns and fire departments who purchased them; and that it tried to allege that safety measures should have been put in place by fire departments or fire truck manufacturers to lock sound out of the cabin.
Margolis argued firefighters were the end user, and Federal Signal was bound to directly protect the firefighters, an argument the jury apparently agreed with.
The verdicts ranged from $10,000 to $100,000 depending on the firefighter's hearing loss.
"They cannot hear children's voices, they have trouble hearing their wives," said Margolis, who noted that they also cannot hear conversation when there is background noise, such as in a restaurant.
Calls to Federal Signal were not immediately returned, but the company's news release noted that 74 other firefighters who filed in Cook County had their claims dismissed.
Seven of the nine who won their cases continue to work as firefighters, while two have retired.