Injured firefighter threatens to sue over 'faulty' wooden ladder

A firefighter is threatening to take the State to court over an injury she suffered during training at the fire service headquarters in January.

Her attorney Richard Jaggasar sent a pre-action protocol letter to the Attorney General on May 2.

He said his client was injured while inspecting and testing a wooden ladder during the training exercise.

“She sustained a work-related injury caused by a ladder pulley system which was not properly affixed to the equipment.”

The firefighter has asked for her name not to be published.

Her attorney said her right forearm was injured and she had to be taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope.

When she returned from sick leave in February, she was assigned sentry duty, but was still made to write reports, as it was the height of the “wildfire” season, exacerbating her injury.

She visited a doctor specialising in sport medicine and injury in March. Her medical report, which accompanied the pre-action letter, said she “sustained an injury due to a malfunctioning pulley system of a ladder which caused the right arm to be compressed and impacted…culminating in radiating pain in the forearm…”

She was diagnosed with neuropraxia of the right radial nerve in her forearm, which is classified as a tendon injury, the letter said. She was prescribed medication and physiotherapy twice a week and given 28 days' sick leave.

“She remains on extended sick leave to date.”

Jaggasar said his client has received documentations that the ladders were never fit for use by the fire service.

“By letter dated February 2, 2022, the procuring company, Amalgamated Security Co was notified that the ladders were made in the US and the specifications do not confirm with the British standard currently in use be the TTFS.

“As a result of the defect, the ladders require re-engineering and alterations. These alterations were clearly not done properly thereby causing the injury sustained by the intended claimant," the letter contended.

Jaggasar also noted that the purchase of 20 wooden ladders, at cost of $999,000, was the subject of an inquiry by the Integrity Commission and the Auditor General.

He also cited a incident report in the station’s diary which said, “The following issues were identified: (i) ladder cannot automatically pull; (ii) the extended part of the ladder is on the wrong side; (iii) based on how much the ladder is extended, the point of the overlap of the main and extended part is very unstable; (iv) the rungs are overly smooth due to the varnish used; (v) there are no non-skid shoes making use of the ladder on pitch, tile or concrete hazardous.”

Jaggasar said despite the internal note, the fire service failed to assess the use and viability of the ladders properly.

“It appears that the ladders were then rushed and forced to be utilised in an attempt to justify the purchase. This rush included a supposed retrofitting of the ladder’s clamps and a training exercise involving the intended claimant.

“The retrofitting was not done properly...

"The forced training exercise was also an attempt to claim the ladders were usable, which also revealed its uselessness and potential to cause harm to others."

As a result, he argued, the intended claimant was injured.

Jaggasar alleged negligence on the part of the State.

He also revealed that his client has filed a complaint under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Speaking in Parliament on April 12, National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds said he had no information to suggest that wooden ladders commissioned by the fire service in March 2020 were unsafe for use.

He also said he had no information to suggest the ladders breached any part of the OSH Act.

In an interview in October 2023 on i95.5 FM, Hinds said he had called for a “thorough investigation” into the purchase.