FL Police Officer Sues Victim's Family

This is ridiculous!

Fla. Police Officer Sues Victim's Family


Florida Police Officer Hurt by Fall During Rescue Sues Victim's Family



The Associated Press
CASSELBERRY, Fla. Oct 10, 2007 (AP)


A police officer who slipped and injured a knee during a rescue call has sued the family who phoned 911 after their 1-year-old boy nearly drowned.

The child, Joey Cosmillo, fell into the family pool in January. He was resuscitated but suffered brain damage and can't walk, talk or swallow. He lives in a nursing home and eats and breathes through tubes.


Police Sgt. Andrea Eichhorn alleges the boy's family left a puddle of water on the floor, causing her fall during the rescue effort. She broke her knee and missed two months of work.

Eichhorn's attorney, David Heil, said she now has persistent knee pain and will likely develop arthritis. He said city benefits paid by workers' compensation and some disability checks helped with medical bills, but it wasn't enough.

"It's a situation where the Cosmillos have caused these problems, brought them on themselves, then tried to play the victim," Heil said.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

"The loss we've suffered, and she's seeking money?" said Richard Cosmillo, the boy's grandfather who lived in the home with his wife and the boy's mother. "Of course there's going to be water in the house. He was sopping wet when we brought him in."

Cop who fell on the job sues family of rescued baby



Richard Cosmillo holds his grandson, Joey Cosmillo, who is profoundly disabled after nearly drowning in the family pool. Joey lives at a rehabilitation home now, where Richard Cosmillo visits him daily. (GEORGE SKENE, ORLANDO SENTINEL / October 8, 2007)



By Rene Stutzman | Orlando Sentinel 10:44 AM EDT, October 10, 2007

CASSELBERRY -- In January, 1-year-old Joey Cosmillo wandered into the backyard and fell into the family pool. When his mother hauled him out, he wasn't breathing. Rescuers were able to bring him back to life, but he suffered severe brain damage and cannot walk, talk or even swallow.

Now, his family faces another burden: One of the rescuers, Casselberry police Sgt. Andrea Eichhorn, is suing, alleging the family left a puddle of water on the floor that afternoon, causing her to slip and fall.

The boy's grandparents, named in the suit, are mystified and angry.



"The loss we've suffered, and she's seeking money?" said Richard Cosmillo, 69, the boy's grandfather. "Of course there's going to be water in the house. He was sopping wet when we brought him in."

Eichhorn last week sued Richard Cosmillo; his wife, Maggie Cosmillo; and the boy's mother, Angela Cosmillo, accusing them of negligence. They were careless, according to the suit, and allowed the home they shared to become unsafe.

As a consequence, Eichhorn broke her knee, something that kept her off the job for two months, according to police Chief John Pavlis.

Joey now lives in a nursing home five miles away, where he gets 24-hour care. He breathes through one tube. He's fed through another.

"He doesn't have any abilities -- any," his grandmother said. "He can't sit. He can't swallow. He can't eat. We're not even sure he can see."

She and Richard Cosmillo are the boy's legal guardians. For the first two months after the accident, she remained at his bedside, never once going home.

Wow. How could they just leave water puddles sitting around at a time like that? :doh:

:furious: :furious: :furious:
I am so tired of lawsuits I cant see straight-
she is a disgrace to the uniform & badge-- the baby is all but a vegetable, and her knee hurts.......
Dear God, give me strength

Tried to play victim? Give me a break!

what a witch! if she didn't think the workmans comp was a enough, she should have gone against the department, not against the family. part of her job is to go out in to the public... she is employed by the police department to do that.

i'm sure if she'd show her face around the area for about two minutes someone would give her artritis in that knee... the "she might have arthritis" is a bunch of bull. you can't sue for something you're now at risk for or might have later on. geez!


if she is back at work now after two months... it can't be that bad. especially being a police officer.she needs to get over it.

If she had worker's comp...like the article stated, she has already been paid for her level of impairment if indeed she suffered any permanent loss.

deandaniellws said:

If she had worker's comp...like the article stated, she has already been paid for her level of impairment if indeed she suffered any permanent loss.

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What makes me angry is that this poor family, which is already suffering so much with the boy being hurt (and most likely suffering financially as well) is now going to have to defend themselves against this lawsuit. They have already, for all intents and purposes, lost that baby. The emotional and financial reprecussions of that is really devestating. What a self centered witch this lady is. She has no mercy.

pedinurse said:

What makes me angry is that this poor family, which is already suffering so much with the boy being hurt (and most likely suffering financially as well) is now going to have to defend themselves against this lawsuit. They have already, for all intents and purposes, lost that baby. The emotional and financial reprecussions of that is really devestating. What a self centered witch this lady is. She has no mercy.

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I am sure that the police officer will "settle" out of court for whatever their homeowners insurance policy limits are. Yep...she is a for sure!:furious:

pedinurse said:

what a witch! if she didn't think the workmans comp was a enough, she should have gone against the department, not against the family. part of her job is to go out in to the public... she is employed by the police department to do that.

i'm sure if she'd show her face around the area for about two minutes someone would give her artritis in that knee... the "she might have arthritis" is a bunch of bull. you can't sue for something you're now at risk for or might have later on. geez!


if she is back at work now after two months... it can't be that bad. especially being a police officer.she needs to get over it.

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I totally agree with you. You posted what I wanted to say without using the words I would use (I would get banned for typing them ).

I'm worried that if she wins other police officers will start to do the same thing. I remember one case in which a homeowner sued a fire dept and some of its firefighters for failing to save someone who was in the home when it caught fire. This person lost, for good reason.

deandaniellws said:

If she had worker's comp...like the article stated, she has already been paid for her level of impairment if indeed she suffered any permanent loss.

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What she said.

she should be kicked off the force! She is a police officer that is supposed to serve, protect and honor the public.....Sue the drug addicts, sue the killers, rapists etc...why sue a family who has already suffered so much?
I seriouly hope its thrown out of court considering she is a public official

How can she even look at herself in the mirror?

DISGUSTING!

I can't even type what I want to say about this woman.

When I think of officers who are shot at, swung on, cussed at, spit at, and suffer all kinds of abuse trying to keep the rest of us safe...she is a disgrace to the badge. These people must have good insurance and she saw $$$$. Plus I bet the lawyer is someone she knows and whispered in her ear like the serpent to Eve.

The love of money is the root of all evil.

O.K. I despise playing devils's advocate but, there are always two sides to every story.

First of all I would like to extend to the family my deepest sympathy to thieir son and his relatives. It is terrible that this happened to their son and his life is and will never be the same.

But did anyone consider that in the course of doing her job, that this police officer is and was damaged that will affect her career, her earning potential and most she will most likely not be able to continue her career and retirement as a Police Officer.

The cause of the event of the boy ending up in the pool is two fold. The mother "not being aware that her son left the house, which can be "accidental" or she was busy. The homeowners, knowing that they had a young child, who could easily "leave" the house and end up in the pool.

If they did have a "fence" around the pool to protect other children, then the boy would not have been able to have access to the pool, the boy would not have been injured and he would have the same life that he had, the Officer would not have been injured.

So not having a fence is the prime cause, and I can probably "guess" that a fence was required by some by-law, as it is in my City. Not only do you need a fence in the yard, but a "child proof" fence around the pool. Some people even put a flag pole in the yard to alert the public that there is a pool.

A person is responsible for any conditions that exist on their property that may injure other people.

In the end, this "accident" may cost the Police Officer a lot of money, which she will not be compensated for unless she sues. It is not like the "victims" have to pay for it out of pocket, their insurance will cover most if not all of the costs.

Just a different point of view............

It wasn't negligent to leave the water on the floor, in my opinion. The officer knew she was going to a situation where a child was pulled out of a pool and brought inside and should have known to be cautious of water on the floor.

When you can't put one foot in front of the other responsibly, it's your own fault.

All I can say is I am disgusted.

Bless this family and their poor little boy..

Every job comes with an inherent set of risks. This woman should not have become a police officer if she was not willing to accept the risks. She slipped on a puddle of water. Shouldn't she have been more observant and walked around the puddle? I think that this is a pathetic attempt to get money from this family.

Being a police officer is a RISK of life in itself. If she wasn't for risk she should have been in another line of work!! If she can't avoid a puddle of water how well will she avoid being shot at? The family should counter sue the police department for hiring that idiot!