Monroeville fire department attorneys ask to dismiss part of lawsuit filed by Gateway student, parents

Attorneys representing a Monroeville volunteer fire company have asked a judge to dismiss a portion of a civil lawsuit filed against the station.

Court records show that attorneys Bruce Rende and Amy Sims say the parents of a Gateway student who was hit by an ambulance cannot recover damages for loss of filial consortium.

Filial consortium is the “loss of affection, love and companionship that results from a child’s injury or death,” according to Lawguys.com.

The attorneys cite Pennsylvania cases that show the state “does not recognize a claim for loss of filial consortium.”

Kenyatta Mwambu, who was 17 at the time, was hit by a Monroeville Volunteer Fire Company No. 4 ambulance around 3:45 p.m. May 9 while crossing a street, according to a complaint filed Oct. 17 in the Allegheny Court of Common Pleas.

Mwambu suffered “damage to bones, ligaments, tendons, nerves, muscles, blood vessels and surrounding soft tissues of the left and right lower extremities,” according to the complaint.

The complaint also said Mwambu suffered “abrasions,” “contusions” and “multiple fractures of the ankle and heel” of his left foot. There was also “shock with injury and damage to the nerves and nervous system.”

As it stands, the lawsuit is divided into two separate counts with Mwambu listed as a plaintiff in one and his parents – Paul Mwambu and Josephine Kyazze – in the other. Each count seeks $35,000 for damages and a jury trial.

The fire station’s attorneys did not seek to dismiss the parents’ request for damages for medical expenses.

Mwambu’s complaint alleges Brandon Prevost, the driver of the ambulance, “generally” drove “carelessly” and “negligently.”

The department’s attorneys asked the judge to strike the word “generally” because, they argue, the word lacks specificity and prevents them from properly defending their client.

“Catch-all allegations of negligence do not apprise a defendant of the conduct that is alleged as improper or negligent,” wrote Rende.

Rende and Edward Balzarini Jr., who is representing the plaintiffs, were not immediately available to comment.

When reached by phone, Prevost deferred questions to the fire company’s chief, Scott Feyes, and the fire company’s president, Monroeville police Chief Doug Cole.

Cole said in an email that the fire company’s management had no comment on pending litigation.

“We will defend this claim in court with our legal team,” he said.

Feyes did not respond to a request for comment.