Family of PA Firefighter Hit by Truck Files Lawsuit

WILKES-BARRE, PA—The family of a Kunkle Fire Company firefighter has filed suit against the driver of a dump truck who struck him while he was directing traffic, saying both the driver and the company that hired him are directly responsible for the grievous injuries he sustained.

The family of Edward Nulton Sr., 62, filed the suit this week through attorneys Neil T. O’Donnell and Michael A. O’Donnell of the Kingston-based O’Donnell Law Offices.

According to the suit, Nulton was acting in his capacity as a Kunkle volunteer firefighter, directing traffic at the scene of an accident on Route 309 in Monroe Township early in the morning of Sept. 21.

That’s when Nulton was struck by a dump truck driven by Jack Husband, named as a defendant. Additional defendants are Alan D. Shaver, owner of Shaver & Sons Inc. and Dominic’s Equipment Rentals, Sales and Service, along with Rexer’s LLC, the company for which Husband was hauling materials.

The suit suggests Shaver’s company was negligent in hiring Husband, saying that his application for a job in June 2018 suggested no experience or qualifications for a driving job. Further, he applied for a job called “Chief Cook and Bottle Washer,” seeking a rate of $100 per hour.

The suit says Husband actually committed several violations on the road in the two years before the crash, leading to his commercial driving license being suspended.

Further, the suit claims Shaver lied about the dump truck not having an electronic data recorder. The suit suggests the truck truly did have a recorder, and the truck continued to be driven after the accident, leading to the destruction of evidence.

Nulton sustained serious injuries in the accident, including a traumatic brain injury, leading to him still being hospitalized at Allied Rehabilitation Hospital in Scranton.

Nulton’s family is seeking a jury trial, hoping for all compensatory damages that the court deems appropriate in the case.

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©2019 The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)

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