Case will test award limits

Christopher Brian Hunton: Died after fall.

A lawsuit filed Tuesday over a firetruck accident that killed an Amarillo firefighter last year alleges negligence by the truck's makers and service providers while challenging the constitutionality of the state's caps on punitive damages in product liability suits.

The suit relates to the April 23, 2005, accident that killed firefighter Christopher Brian Hunton, 27, of the Amarillo Fire Department. Hunton suffered fatal injuries when he fell through the left rear passenger door of an American LaFrance ladder truck that was rounding a turn en route to a call.

Maintenance records and fire department members indicated the left rear passenger door had a habit of opening while the truck was operating, the State Fire Marshal's Office later reported. Hunton wasn't wearing his seat belt when the accident occurred.

Wigington Rumley LLP of Corpus Christi filed the suit in 108th District Court on behalf of Hunton's parents, Paul and Janet Hunton of Lubbock.

"They have always been interested in finding the truth, and the truth is the door should not have opened in this accident," said Jeff Wigington, a partner with the firm. "If the door had stayed closed, their son would have been fine."

The suit charges American LaFrance LLC, Freightliner LLC, Patriarch Partners LLC, Dalmatian Corp. and DaimlerChrysler Corp. with negligence, alleging they designed the vehicle with a defective and dangerous door latch system and failed to give proper warnings of the danger. It alleges they knew the door latch was subject to failure, they misrepresented the vehicle's quality and they breached warranties.

Amarillo Truck Center, a truck dealership at 2210 Whitaker Road, also was targeted by the suit. The center was charged with negligence in performing service and repairs to the left rear passenger door latch.

Officials with American LaFrance and Amarillo Truck Center said Tuesday they hadn't seen the suit and couldn't comment on it.

The suit seeks claims to be awarded to Hunton's estate and his parents for the mental anguish and pain caused by his death. It also seeks punitive damages against the defendants for "gross neglect and malice."

The suit challenges the constitutionality of the state's $750,000 cap on punitive damages in a product liability suit, saying it violates the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and various articles of the Texas Constitution.

"That's not the purpose of the case, to challenge the constitutionality of damage caps," Wigington said. "The purpose is to hold American LaFrance responsible for their defective product."

The family and city each hired experts to perform separate investigations of the door. The family's investigation didn't reveal that the city of Amarillo or the Amarillo Fire Department did anything wrong, Wigington said.

The city of Amarillo will review the lawsuit and probably will participate as an intervener to recover its losses and damages, City Attorney Marcus Norris said.

The city has paid out $160,000 in worker compensation and death benefits, and there may be additional losses or damages the city would try to recover as well, Norris said.

The story so far

April 23, 2005 : Firefighter Christopher Brian Hunton falls from an Amarillo Fire Department firetruck as it responds to a house fire call about 10 p.m.

April 25, 2005: Hunton dies at 9:53 a.m. at Northwest Texas Healthcare System.

Nov. 4, 2005: Preliminary results of the city's investigation point to a defective door latch and Hunton's failure to wear a seat belt as causes of the accident.

January 2006: A report from the state Fire Marshal's Office also cites the defective door latch and Hunton's failure to wear a seat belt.

June 6, 2006: Hunton's parents, Paul and Janet Hunton of Lubbock, sue the truck's manufacturers and service providers.