Thursday, October 11, 2007

No Aloha in Casselberry

While this blog is a personal blog, there are just some things that make me so angry I need an outlet.

This is the story:

A one-year old fell into the family pool in January. He was resuscitated but suffered brain damage and now cannot walk, talk or swallow. He lives in a nursing home and eats and breathes through tubes.

Sgt. Andrea Eichhorn was in their house AFTER the boy was in the ambulance. The boy had been brought through the house, and of course, the floor was wet.

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

She is now suing them.

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

Please call or email the Police Chief and express your distaste.

Police Chief’s Office ext.1064
Police Chief - John Pavlis, Ext. 1064
Email:jpavlis@casselberry.org

Story in Orlando Sentinal


This is the email I sent officer Pavlis:

Dear Officer Pavlis,

I recently read an article in CNN about Officer Eichhorn's lawsuit. Unbelieving, I looked for more articles on the subject as I was sure the facts had to be mistaken. Unfortunately, I discovered they are not.

Officer Eichhorn's lawsuit is disgusting and appalling. First, it discourages people from calling emergency response during an emergency. They have to decide to take the chance of being sued because an officer doesn't notice a wall in my house and walks into it, or cuts themselves on glass from a broken window, or is hurt by an attacker in my home, etc.

Secondly, having been appraised of the situation, Eichhorn was well aware that the situation would involve water. As an intelligent individual, she should have been aware that water might be in another place other than the pool, and therefore, the fall is her fault for not being attentive.

Lastly, it is despicable and inhumane to pain a family who has experienced such a horrible loss with such a frivolous and money-grubbing lawsuit. I am sure, had the family not almost lost their child and were not distraught, they would have mopped the floor.

The lawsuit implies negligence on the family's part. It is, in fact, negligence on Officer Eichhorn's part. Her pathetic lawsuit is blatent exploitation of a tragedy.

I am aware that you discouraged her lawsuit, but be aware how badly this not only affects the Casselberry police department, but is also detrimental to the national opinion of the police.

If I ever have a an emergency where I must call the police, I know that I will hesitate and weigh if it is worth getting sued. She ought to be removed from the streets until this lawsuit is resolved.

Accidents happen. We have all slipped and bruised ourselves, yet most people have enough pride and personal strength to accept that they are to blame, or that no one is to blame. Office Eichhorn should leave the family to greive rather than crippling them further.

Please convey this message to her, as her email address was not available.

Sincerely,

Dana Csige
Kailua Kona, Hawaii

1 comment:

chickpea4me said...

I cannot believe that she is trying to sue that family. I guess this story hits extra close to home for me, since Casselberry is where we used to live, it's where I taught middle school, and we still own a condo there which we rent currently. This is not the first instance of ignorance as seen by the Casselberry police department. Fortunately or unfortunately, many of their officers seem to have nothing better to do with their time, as they can be found doing absolutely nothing many times. I think most of them just sit around in their cars all day and talk to each other in parking lots, at gas stations, eating establishments, and dare I say the local strip clubs. Believe me, I'm thankful there is not much crime to deal with, but for God's sake...find someone else to harrass other than this poor family who is already living in a state of extreme chaos and mourning. How can she sleep at night?!!!