Court backs firemen deafened by sirens

PENNSYLYVANIA, PA — An insurance company can’t avoid covering Seagreave Fire Apparatus LLC against lawsuit by firefighters who claim sirens on the company’s trucks have deafened them, a state court has ruled.

An insurer must cover one of the nation’s largest fire engine manufacturers against lawsuits filed by hundreds of firefighters who claim sirens on the trucks have damaged their hearing, a state Superior Court panel has concluded.

The ruling, contained in an opinion by Senior Judge William Platt, marks a win for Wisconsin-based Seagrave Fire Apparatus LLC and a loss for Admiral Insurance Co.

Platt found that contrary to Admiral’s claims, the insurer owes Seagrave coverage for some of the 455 or so hearing loss suits filed nationwide.

Firefighters contend in those cases that loud sirens used on their trucks have caused irreversible damage to their hearing. Some of them are seeking damages for injuries they say began with exposure to the sirens’ blare in the 1960s.

Seagrave is just one of several fire equipment firms that are targeted by the suits. Many Pennsylvania firefighters are plaintiffs in the complaints.