Yarnell 19: Mother of fallen firefighter seeks $36 million in son's death

[Gravitycollapse]

PRESCOTT, AZ - The mother of one of 19 firefighters killed battling the Yarnell Hill Fire earlier this year has said she intends to sue the state of Arizona, the city of Prescott and Yavapai County.
A notice of claim released Friday shows Marcia McKee is seeking $36 million in her 21-year-old son's death -- $12 million each from the state, city and county. McKee's claim is the first of its kind from any of the firefighters' families...

A three-month investigation into the deaths cited poor communication between the men and support staff, and revealed that an airtanker carrying flame retardant was hovering overhead as the men died.
The 120-page report released in September found that all procedures were followed and assigned little of blame.
In McKee's notice of claim, she alleges that the Yarnell Hill Fire Report "is a whitewash...the authors produced a blame-avoiding, muddled and untrustworthy cover-up."
According to the claim, McKee is willing to settle the matter for an aggregate settlement of $12 million if the issue can be resolved within 60 days."

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_northern_az/other/granite-mountain-hotshots-lawsuit-mother-of-fallen-firefighter-seeks-36-million-in-sons-death


The mother's loss is unimaginable. But 12 million dollars is nearly 16% of Prescott's annual operating budget. Yavapai County will have similar issues as it is not a particularly wealthy county. Hopefully this can be resolved in a manner that doesn't cause a fiscal crisis and take yet more funds away from the very fire departments that suffered in this tragedy.

[jaysunb]

1. Rec'd for your comment n/t

[Tansy_Gold]

2. $36,000,000 will not bring her son back

I understand the "logic" behind this. Forcing the city of Prescott, Yavapai County, and the State of Arizona to pay for their mistakes is supposed to make them think better the next time this happens. Unfortunately "The City of Prescott," "Yavapai County" and "The State of Arizona" are not sentient beings. They aren't capable of conscious thought. Yet if this suit is successful, the people who live in Prescott, Yavapai County, and Arizona will be coughing up the cash so one family*** can live in luxury while they grieve. Does that make anything right?




***Of course, the lawyers who filed this suit and who are not grieving at all will collect a healthy portion. Vampire parasites.

[msongs]

3. it will make a lot of attorneys much richer tho. follow the money eh? nt

[gopiscrap]

4. wow

[RichGirl]

5. All the money in the world won't bring her son back.....

When someone becomes a firefighter they know the risks. If they are an adult, they know people make mistakes...at any job...and in their job it can be fatal. If you don't want to die in a fire...then don't become a firefighter. If some people were to blame then fire them or charge them if it was criminal.

But to give this woman any money would set a bad precedent. And ultimately the taxpayers would end up paying for something that wasn't their fault.