KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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ADT sued for failing to report residential fire resulting in loss of life
July 26, 2018
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ADT sued for failing to report residential fire / loss of life
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    Every alarm company fears being sued for a loss which the alarm / security / fire system was designed to detect. And that concern is not only financial. How about the feelings the alarm company and those involved with the signal must have when they learn of loss of life as a result of their mistakes. When it comes to "life/safety" fire is right there on top of the list, and fire loss can cause catastrophic loss in terms of money, personal injury and death. On the one hand alarm companies are given guidelines and AHJ intervention and approval for fire, which is a good thing, and on the other hand, these same guidelines and AHJ requirements set minimum standards that, when not complied with, can result in liability exposure. 
      What you should be thinking about as you read the below news report is what if it was you, not ADT, named in the law suit. Are you carrying enough E&O insurance [probably not]? Is your contract with the subscriber up to date, properly executed and strong enough to protect you if the allegations in the law suit are true [probably not unless you have Kirschenbaum TM All in One Agreement]? 
    It appears from the news report below that ADT failed to call the FD when a fire signal came in. Instead it tried reaching the subscriber, unsuccessfully. Plaintiff will try to establish that the procedure violated the customary practices and guidelines as well as ADT's own procedural policy.
    Thanks to Captain Frank J. Herrick, City of Leawood Fire Department, for bringing the article to my attention.
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Lawsuit just filed accuses ADT of failing to alert FD to alarms for Kansas fire
JULY 13, 2018 

reported BY POST STAFF
   TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Security services company ADT received alarms at a burning Topeka home with a woman inside but didn’t alert authorities about the deadly fire, according to a lawsuit.
   The wrongful death lawsuit was filed Wednesday on behalf of Elizabeth Frost’s child, who is a minor. Frost, 36, died of carbon monoxide poisoning from inhaling smoke and soot inside her burning home in August 2016.
ADT received two alarms regarding the fire, the lawsuit said.    But the company didn’t alert officers and “inexplicably … fully cleared” the incident about an hour before first responders pulled Frost’s body from the home, according to the lawsuit.
    The suit accuses ADT of negligence, fraud, deception and breaching the Kansas Consumer Protection Act and its agreement with Frost. It seeks damages for Frost’s pain prior to her death and subsequent medical expenses, as well as damages for the loss suffered by Frost’s child.
Fire fighters didn’t respond to Frost’s home until city employees noticed the fire and called 911. ADT received the first alarm for a broken glass window about 90 minutes earlier. The second alarm was received two minutes later for a failure of the home system’s main keypad, according to the lawsuit.
    An ADT employee attempted unsuccessfully to contact Frost three times and Frost’s mother twice, the lawsuit stated. The employee cleared the incident about 30 minutes after the first alarm and made no attempt to contact first responders, according to the suit.
    ADT’s website said that the company will notify authorities if an employee couldn’t make contact with a resident under an alarm.
    “These representations were known to be false or untrue by (ADT), or were recklessly made without knowledge concerning them,” the lawsuit stated.
ADT has declined to comment to The Associated Press citing pending litigation.
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Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC
Attorneys at Law
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
516 747 6700 x 301
ken@kirschenbaumesq.com
516 747 6700
www.KirschenbaumEsq.com