The parents of a Texas firefighter killed in a fire truck accident have filed a lawsuit against the vehicle’s manufacturer, citing negligence and disputing the state’s punitive damages cap.
Christopher Brian Hunton, a 27-year-old Amarillo firefighter, died in April after falling through the rear passenger door of an American LaFrance ladder truck as it was rounding a turn en route to a call.
The lawsuit alleges that the vehicle was designed with a defective and dangerous door latch system and that the makers failed to provide proper warnings.
Among the parties named in the lawsuit are American LaFrance, Freightliner, Patriarch Partners, Dalmatian Corp., and DaimlerChrysler Corp. Amarillo Truck Center was also name for negligence in performing service and repairs to the defective door latch.
The petition is also challenging the constitutionality of Texas’ product liability punitive damages cap of $750,000.