The Seattle Times reported that the City of Seattle is trying to overturn a $12.75 million judgment awarded to a former firefighter in October of 2009. The firefighter, Mark Jones, was injured while on duty. He was assigned a temporary fire station and woke up late at night. He accidentally walked to a fire pole which did not have a guard rail and fell onto concrete below. The judgment was awarded based on the claim that Jones was permanently disabled and would require 24 hour assistance for the rest of his life. The case has been in appeal since 2009 and no money has been paid.
Investigators recently filmed Jones in several different situations where he appeared to be perfectly healthy. The videos show him throwing horseshoes, chopping wood, playing bocce, and doing a victory dance.
Most people love firefighters and the fact that they are willing to put themselves in harms way for our safety. We all want them to be compensated very well if they do happen to get injured in the line of duty.
To see a firefighter willingly trying to abuse a workplace injury for unjust gain is utterly dissappointing. If Jones is fine then this is one of the saddest workplace deceptions ever. Thankfully none of the money has been paid out yet. Let’s hope justice is done in this case.
