Cop who fell on the job sues family of baby who almost drowned

[Gan]

In January, 1-year-old Joey Cosmillo wandered into the backyard and fell into the family pool. When his mother hauled him out, he wasn't breathing. Rescuers were able to bring him back to life, but he suffered severe brain damage and cannot walk, talk or even swallow.

Now, his family faces another burden: One of the rescuers, Casselberry police Sgt. Andrea Eichhorn, is suing, alleging the family left a puddle of water on the floor that afternoon, causing her to slip and fall.

The boy's grandparents, named in the suit, are mystified and angry.

"The loss we've suffered, and she's seeking money?" said Richard Cosmillo, 69, the boy's grandfather. "Of course there's going to be water in the house. He was sopping wet when we brought him in."

Eichhorn last week sued Richard Cosmillo; his wife, Maggie Cosmillo; and the boy's mother, Angela Cosmillo, accusing them of negligence. They were careless, according to the suit, and allowed the home they shared to become unsafe.

As a consequence, Eichhorn broke her knee, something that kept her off the job for two months, according to police Chief John Pavlis.

Joey now lives in a nursing home five miles away, where he gets 24-hour care. He breathes through one tube. He's fed through another.

"He doesn't have any abilities -- any," his grandmother said. "He can't sit. He can't swallow. He can't eat. We're not even sure he can see."

She and Richard Cosmillo are the boy's legal guardians. For the first two months after the accident, she remained at his bedside, never once going home.

She has now gone back to work at a furniture store, and her husband keeps watch on the boy. He visits every day.

"This thing," Maggie Cosmillo said, "has destroyed our lives forever."

The baby's mother was the only one home Jan. 9, when the boy slipped out of the house and wound up in the pool, according to a police report.

She plunged in and dragged him out, carrying him inside, down a hallway and into a bedroom. She also called 911.

Eichhorn arrived a few minutes later. As she stepped into the room where rescuers were working on the boy, she slipped and went down on one knee, then stood back up, according to Richard Cosmillo.

Later that day, she went to an emergency care center and eventually to an orthopedist, according to her attorney, David Heil.

While she was on medical leave, Pavlis said, the city's insurer paid her medical bills and provided disability checks.

Eichhorn, a 12-year department veteran, would not discuss the suit. Her attorney said those benefits, paid by the city's workers' compensation carrier, were not enough. The suit seeks an unspecified amount of money.

Eichhorn, he said, is a victim. Her knee aches, and she will likely develop arthritis.

If the Cosmillos had made their pool baby-proof, police would not have been called to the scene, there would have been no water on the floor, and Eichhorn would not have hurt herself, he said.

"It's a situation where the Cosmillos have caused these problems, brought them on themselves, then tried to play the victim," he said.

The department's personnel file on Eichhorn, who earns $48,000 a year, is filled with letters of praise. She has worked as a prostitution decoy and a hostage negotiator, and once wrestled a box of razor blades away from a person threatening suicide.

"She is the best sergeant within the police department and should become the next lieutenant," her supervisor wrote in a job review in 2003.

"Sgt. Eichhorn is a good officer," Pavlis said Tuesday.

He urged her not to file the lawsuit, he said, but there was nothing he could do.

The Cosmillos have not given the suit much attention, they say.

Richard Cosmillo is busy looking after Joey, whose name he had tattooed over his heart a few days after the accident, when doctors told the family the boy would survive only a few hours.

But Joey, now almost 23 months old, has survived. He can smile, and he appears to recognize music, his grandparents say. His grandfather hopes for much more.

"Joey is a Roman gladiator. He is an absolute warrior," Richard Cosmillo said. "There isn't anything or anyone in this world that I love as much as him."

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/orl-mdrown1007oct10,0,6825213.story?track=rss
__________________________________________________ _

Amazing, truly amazing that in the course of her duties she becomes injured and now seeks relief from those she was dispatched to assist/aid.

What a disgrace.

[Sean of the Thread]

Fucking disgusting.

[Solkern]

pathetic as well

[Kuyuk]

someone should kill that dumbass.

rid the genepool.


K.

[Bobmuhthol]

That Cosmillo family, always trying to play the victim. They didn't suffer a bad fall from slipping on water in a house like Sergeant Eichhorn, after all.

[Methais]

In January, 1-year-old Joey Cosmillo wandered into the backyard and fell into the family pool. When his mother hauled him out, he wasn't breathing. Rescuers were able to bring him back to life, but he suffered severe brain damage and cannot walk, talk or even swallow.

Now, his family faces another burden: One of the rescuers, Casselberry police Sgt. Andrea Eichhorn, is suing, alleging the family left a puddle of water on the floor that afternoon, causing her to slip and fall.

The boy's grandparents, named in the suit, are mystified and angry.

"The loss we've suffered, and she's seeking money?" said Richard Cosmillo, 69, the boy's grandfather. "Of course there's going to be water in the house. He was sopping wet when we brought him in."

Eichhorn last week sued Richard Cosmillo; his wife, Maggie Cosmillo; and the boy's mother, Angela Cosmillo, accusing them of negligence. They were careless, according to the suit, and allowed the home they shared to become unsafe.

As a consequence, Eichhorn broke her knee, something that kept her off the job for two months, according to police Chief John Pavlis.

Joey now lives in a nursing home five miles away, where he gets 24-hour care. He breathes through one tube. He's fed through another.

"He doesn't have any abilities -- any," his grandmother said. "He can't sit. He can't swallow. He can't eat. We're not even sure he can see."

She and Richard Cosmillo are the boy's legal guardians. For the first two months after the accident, she remained at his bedside, never once going home.

She has now gone back to work at a furniture store, and her husband keeps watch on the boy. He visits every day.

"This thing," Maggie Cosmillo said, "has destroyed our lives forever."

The baby's mother was the only one home Jan. 9, when the boy slipped out of the house and wound up in the pool, according to a police report.

She plunged in and dragged him out, carrying him inside, down a hallway and into a bedroom. She also called 911.

Eichhorn arrived a few minutes later. As she stepped into the room where rescuers were working on the boy, she slipped and went down on one knee, then stood back up, according to Richard Cosmillo.

Later that day, she went to an emergency care center and eventually to an orthopedist, according to her attorney, David Heil.

While she was on medical leave, Pavlis said, the city's insurer paid her medical bills and provided disability checks.

Eichhorn, a 12-year department veteran, would not discuss the suit. Her attorney said those benefits, paid by the city's workers' compensation carrier, were not enough. The suit seeks an unspecified amount of money.

Eichhorn, he said, is a victim. Her knee aches, and she will likely develop arthritis.

If the Cosmillos had made their pool baby-proof, police would not have been called to the scene, there would have been no water on the floor, and Eichhorn would not have hurt herself, he said.

"It's a situation where the Cosmillos have caused these problems, brought them on themselves, then tried to play the victim," he said.

The department's personnel file on Eichhorn, who earns $48,000 a year, is filled with letters of praise. She has worked as a prostitution decoy and a hostage negotiator, and once wrestled a box of razor blades away from a person threatening suicide.

"She is the best sergeant within the police department and should become the next lieutenant," her supervisor wrote in a job review in 2003.

"Sgt. Eichhorn is a good officer," Pavlis said Tuesday.

He urged her not to file the lawsuit, he said, but there was nothing he could do.

The Cosmillos have not given the suit much attention, they say.

Richard Cosmillo is busy looking after Joey, whose name he had tattooed over his heart a few days after the accident, when doctors told the family the boy would survive only a few hours.

But Joey, now almost 23 months old, has survived. He can smile, and he appears to recognize music, his grandparents say. His grandfather hopes for much more.

"Joey is a Roman gladiator. He is an absolute warrior," Richard Cosmillo said. "There isn't anything or anyone in this world that I love as much as him."

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/orl-mdrown1007oct10,0,6825213.story?track=rss
__________________________________________________ _

Amazing, truly amazing that in the course of her duties she becomes injured and now seeks relief from those she was dispatched to assist/aid.

What a disgrace.



http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a162/DoyleHargraves/8468a5a1-1.gif

[Solkern]

Methais had to break out worf

[Suppa Hobbit Mage]

What should be examined is why the officers insurance doesn't cover her medical needs from being injured in the line of duty. I feel the same thing about the military. We (we being tax payers of America) should foot the bill for those types of positions (firefighter, military, police, national guard etc.).

Not that I don't think suing a family who went through that isn't repulsive.

[Warriorbird]

Workman's comp often-times has some very low limits. The insurance for cops issue was already brought up. While I agree this case is stretching it, you don't really want to completely rule out this sort of suit for some of the more egregious situations it can occur in.

[Sean of the Thread]

What should be examined is why the officers insurance doesn't cover her medical needs from being injured in the line of duty. I feel the same thing about the military. We (we being tax payers of America) should foot the bill for those types of positions (firefighter, military, police, national guard etc.).

Not that I don't think suing a family who went through that isn't repulsive.

Like the govt' giving out a deployment that's a day short to screw reservists out of max GI Bill benifits?

[mgoddess]

Story about a disgraceful bitch...http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a162/DoyleHargraves/8468a5a1-1.gif

:yeahthat:

[Bobmuhthol]

<<What should be examined is why the officers insurance doesn't cover her medical needs from being injured in the line of duty.>>

It does; she's just a money hungry cunt, much like everyone else who enters a civil suit for anything short of breach of contract.

[senorgordoburro]

I agree that Eichhorn is going about this in a horrible way, and is making herself look like a disgusting human being, but what also catches my attention is the care of the young child. If the child has a chance of recovery then I think they should keep doing what there doing, but if he is going to be basically a vegetable for the rest of his life, I think it is unfair to everyone to go on with him on life support almost. For one, he is not going to enjoy his life on breathing and feeding tubes, and the family cannot move on until there is some closure.

[Anailea]

While she was on medical leave, Pavlis said, the city's insurer paid her medical bills and provided disability checks.

I was wrong. I have been thinking all this time that cops, firefighters, etc. who save peoples lives are not heroes, even though society seems to see them that way. However, I decided that as long as they don't sue the people they are supposed to be saving/protecting, they ARE heroes.

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

This is so sick.

It's a part of her job- she risks her life and health as an agreed upon part of her job.

Workman's comp isn't always very good but she doesn't need to fucking sue the people who needed EMERGENCY help to get attention drawn to the issue-- what the hell were these people supposed to do, mop the floors while their child was dying!?

This bitch is a fucking retard.

[Apathy]

Disgusting.

[Celephais]

I hope they countersue...

[Sean of the Thread]

Seriously I think I'm going to start suing everyone and everything just for the hell of it.

In fact... I will and document the entire shitbag story and make it my thesis.


ffs I'm brilliant.

[Warriorbird]

So...become an insurance expert and a legal scholar, Alex?

There's a LOT of reasons for lawsuits. Many of them are pretty reasonable.

Somebody does something negligent and wipes out your ability to ever go to business school...

...oh well, tough luck!

Some pharmacist fills the wrong prescription and a family member dies. So sorry!

The list goes on.

Somebody booby traps a home with oil or a loaded shotgun or negligently shoots and severely injures a police officer they called...

I think it's pretty reasonable for them to sue to recover damages.

This sort of case plays right into the hands of tort reformers, however, who are mysteriously enough usually high paid corporate lawyers.

[senorgordoburro]

Please tell me that you don't believe that this is a reasonable lawsuit? I could understnad if there child wasn't dying, but serioulsy this is uncalled for. This is worse than the McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit by far. If she wants more money she should sue the city itself, or better yet, there are probably forms she could fill out and just wait for the beurocratic paperpushers to get her some extra money for the "living expenses" that she is lcking so dearly. I know that every branch of the military has organizations where you can get on the spot interest free loans for legitimate living expenses, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was something similar (althought probably not as easy) for police officers. And there is no fucking excuse for saying that the family is trying to play the victim, that is beyond cruel.

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

I am involved in a suit against a doctor right now, actually, for malpractice. She gave me the abortion pill without telling me that was what it was (she lied and told me it was something to help curve my chronic morning sickness [hyperemesis gravidum] that I was suffering from and stupid me didn't check out the name of the medication from a third-party source before I took it). I hemorrhaged and almost died from it due to my blood type. That being said, I'm not suing her for money- I'm suing her to have all of my medical bills covered and to make sure her license if revoked so she can never touch and hurt someone like she hurt me again.

The part that annoys me the most since this all started though is that I've had lawyers approach me about the case asking if they could help and also press charges that would help set a precedent that would make abortion illegal (i.e. try to charge the doctor with murder). Maybe they think that in my own personal suffering I've forgotten that not every woman out there would seriously love to be pregnant, but it still annoys the hell out of me that so many people in law seemingly thrive on capitalizing in some way or another on other people's pain and don't have any qualms on taking advantage of personal lapse's of judgment when people are suffering the most. Obviously when it happened it felt like murder, what my doctor had done to me- but for three lawyers to swoop in and try to further their own agendas with my own problems just pissed me off to no end.

[Warriorbird]

No... I don't think this suit is reasonable... and I'd be pissed at her for making it if I were her employers. What Alex said was that no civil suit apart from breach of contract was reasonable, however. I disagree. A lot of people and lawyers make stupid suits, but "tort reform" is almost universally a tool of corporate lawyers (shocking!)

I can't believe that a doctor would give an abortion pill for morning sickness (as far I knew, RU486 was still totally illegal here). I'd imagine that a lot of lawyers would want to take that case for money or for causes.

[Numbers]

Shakespeare once said: "Kill all the lawyers!"

[Blazing247]

1) This Ofc., win lose or draw, will most likely be "weeded out" of her job as a result of this stupid suit.
2) The mother should be shot. A one year old can't/shouldn't "slip out" anywhere, EVER. The amount of baby neglect I've seen lately is disturbing.

[thefarmer]

1) This Ofc., win lose or draw, will most likely be "weeded out" of her job as a result of this stupid suit.
2) The mother should be shot. A one year old can't/shouldn't "slip out" anywhere, EVER. The amount of baby neglect I've seen lately is disturbing.

Somehow I don't think you have children.

I agree a one year old 'shouldn't', but if it happens it's certainly not always a case of 'neglect'.

[Gan]

I wonder if she's a member of the local law enforcement union. And if so, why arent they representing her with her own department/city with regards to the workman's comp claims for her knee and the extended medical bills.


Furthermore, how can someone slip and drop to one knee and break it? This lady weigh 300 lb. or something? She have a bone disorder/disease?

[Sean of the Thread]

I had my patella broken once upon a time... took a baseball bat to do it.

[Bobmuhthol]

<<So...become an insurance expert and a legal scholar, Alex?>>

Reread my post and/or learn English.

<<What Alex said was that no civil suit apart from breach of contract was reasonable, however.>>


Reread my post and/or learn English.

[Skeeter]

I wonder if she's a member of the local law enforcement union. And if so, why arent they representing her with her own department/city with regards to the workman's comp claims for her knee and the extended medical bills.


Furthermore, how can someone slip and drop to one knee and break it? This lady weigh 300 lb. or something? She have a bone disorder/disease?

I broke my hand swinging a ball bat, odd things happen.

[TheEschaton]

Eichhorn, he said, is a victim. Her knee aches, and she will likely develop arthritis.

OH NOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!

Seriously, I once threw out my back carrying a drum of grease from the kitchen of our restaurant to the dumpsters, when I was a dishwasher. I wish I knew I coulda sued them for my lower back pain to this day. Jesu Christo.

-TheE-

[Parkbandit]

The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.

:yes:

[CrystalTears]

:wtf2: She may have been a great officer, but now she's going down in flames for being a cunt.

[Lomoriond]

2) The mother should be shot. A one year old can't/shouldn't "slip out" anywhere, EVER. The amount of baby neglect I've seen lately is disturbing.

Story time! When my son was 14 months old, I went into the kitchen for FIFTEEN SECONDS to grab a bottle I had been warming up, I turned around, and, in that time span, he made it through my sliding screen door and into my yard to play with my dog.

Lesson learned, I always, from that point forward, put him in his bounce-around plaything whenever I had to leave him alone, even if it was just for a second.... but if my dog had viciously mauled him, would that have made me a neglectful parent? Because I didn't know any better that one time?

Children are like fucking ninjas from the moment they learn to crawl until age 2 or 3 (and then they become THE DEVIL), you look away for ONE second and BAM they are off doing something or getting into something, often doing shit you'd never expect a young toddler to be able to do

The mere fact she found him BEFORE he was completely dead says she probably turned around for a second and he vanished at a speed she didn't expect, through a door she didn't think he could open... and the pool isn't the first place you'd check in that situation.

/ninja baby making their parents look bad rant

~L

[Skeeter]

Story time! When my son was 14 months old, I went into the kitchen for FIFTEEN SECONDS to grab a bottle I had been warming up, I turned around, and, in that time span, he made it through my sliding screen door and into my yard to play with my dog.

Lesson learned, I always, from that point forward, put him in his bounce-around plaything whenever I had to leave him alone, even if it was just for a second.... but if my dog had viciously mauled him, would that have made me a neglectful parent? Because I didn't know any better that one time?

Children are like fucking ninjas from the moment they learn to crawl until age 2 or 3 (and then they become THE DEVIL), you look away for ONE second and BAM they are off doing something or getting into something, often doing shit you'd never expect a young toddler to be able to do

The mere fact she found him BEFORE he was completely dead says she probably turned around for a second and he vanished at a speed she didn't expect, through a door she didn't think he could open... and the pool isn't the first place you'd check in that situation.

/ninja baby making their parents look bad rant

~L


The state says yes.

[CrystalTears]

Jack, I am not going to make any excuses. Yes, Little Jack wouldn't stop crying so I gave him some hugs and I let him watch TV. I went to answer the phone, I was gone for a second, I came back, he let himself out of the playpen, he put on Scarface, and he glued his hands to the rum bottle. Okay? That's it.

:D

[Jolena]

Funny movie. :lol:

[Sean of the Thread]

Story time! When my son was 14 months old, I went into the kitchen for FIFTEEN SECONDS to grab a bottle I had been warming up, I turned around, and, in that time span, he made it through my sliding screen door and into my yard to play with my dog.

Lesson learned, I always, from that point forward, put him in his bounce-around plaything whenever I had to leave him alone, even if it was just for a second.... but if my dog had viciously mauled him, would that have made me a neglectful parent? Because I didn't know any better that one time?

Children are like fucking ninjas from the moment they learn to crawl until age 2 or 3 (and then they become THE DEVIL), you look away for ONE second and BAM they are off doing something or getting into something, often doing shit you'd never expect a young toddler to be able to do

The mere fact she found him BEFORE he was completely dead says she probably turned around for a second and he vanished at a speed she didn't expect, through a door she didn't think he could open... and the pool isn't the first place you'd check in that situation.

/ninja baby making their parents look bad rant

~L

You would have lost all your children for that in the state of Florida. Future children as well.

[Latrinsorm]

"It's a situation where the Cosmillos have caused these problems, brought them on themselves, then tried to play the victim," he said.And people say lawyers are scumbags!!! :no:

[Clove]

Jack, I am not going to make any excuses. Yes, Little Jack wouldn't stop crying so I gave him some hugs and I let him watch TV. I went to answer the phone, I was gone for a second, I came back, he let himself out of the playpen, he put on Scarface, and he glued his hands to the rum bottle. Okay? That's it.

:D

"All I'm saying is, a few minutes of concentrated work with him and Dina, she could get him to blow like Krakatoa."

Whatta Ma.

[diethx]

...and once wrestled a box of razor blades away from a person threatening suicide.

Good thing one of those razor blades didn't fly out of the box and cut her during the scuffle. She probably would have sued the person trying to commit suicide for creating a situation that was unsafe for her.

What fucking bullshit, this woman is the scum of the earth.

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

And people say lawyers are scumbags!!! :no:

Thank you for bringing that quote up, I missed it before..


If the Cosmillos had made their pool baby-proof, police would not have been called to the scene, there would have been no water on the floor, and Eichhorn would not have hurt herself, he said.

Yes and if people did everything 100 percent perfectly ALL the time there would never be any need for cops and that cunt wouldn't have a fucking job.

What an idiot.. so now you're only safe to call the cops/fire department if you have made absolutely NO human error? "Your house is on fire from a grease fire? Oh I'm sorry. Had you taken the proper precautions the fire would have never happened. So, you're on your own!"

[Celephais]

"Excuse, home invader, could you do me a favor and mop up that mud you tracked in, I want to call the police but I'm afraid they'll slip on their way in... oh and turn on the front porch light, it's dark out there."

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

You forgot to ask them to wash their hands too before they touch anything in case they have germs. Don't want one of the officers catching the flu!

[Solkern]

"Excuse, home invader, could you do me a favor and mop up that mud you tracked in, I want to call the police but I'm afraid they'll slip on their way in... oh and turn on the front porch light, it's dark out there."

lmao

[Atlanteax]

The cop is clearly in the wrong, abusing the legal system.

As for the kid, I think the plug should be pulled. It won't be a quality life.
(I wonder how much, even if just insigificant, of the impetus to keep the kid alive on life support is in response to being sued over the incident that lead to the kid's state).

[Sweets]

I know it's wrong, but I want to send this cunt a bag of hate mail. And her little lawyer too. Scum, cold, crass, greedy, unfeeling, stupid, waste of space bitch.

[Gan]

CASSELBERRY, Fla. -- A police sergeant on Thursday dropped her lawsuit against a family that was filed after she slipped and fell at their home during a 911 call, and she was placed on leave by the Casselberry Police Department.

Sgt. Andrea Eichhorn, a 12-year department veteran, was removed from duty with pay while the department reviews the incident.

A 1-year-old boy, Joey Cosmillo, nearly drowned Jan. 9, and there was water on the floor at the home of the boy's family. Eichhorn slid, broke her knee and missed two months of work. She said the boy's family is guilty of negligence.

Eichhorn's attorney, David Heil, sent a fax to Local 6 News that stated Eichhorn said it was in the best interest of herself and her family, friends and the Casselberry Police Department to dismiss the lawsuit.

"It doesn't mean anything because you can't take anything more away from us than what has been taken," grandmother Maggie Cosmillo said in reference to her grandson's condition.

Joey suffered brain damage and can no longer walk, talk or swallow. He lives in a nursing home and eats and breathes through tubes.

The boy's grandmother said she hopes some good can come out of the attention the incident has garnered through the lawsuit.

"I just want someone to step forward (and) help this little boy. Let's give him the best that he deserves," Maggie Cosmillo said.

The lawsuit was filed against the advice of the Casselberry police chief.

http://www.local6.com/news/14319101/detail.html

[thefarmer]

Her life is over.. To bad she didn't realize this BEFORE she sued.

[Celephais]

Furthermore, how can someone slip and drop to one knee and break it? This lady weigh 300 lb. or something? She have a bone disorder/disease?
There is a video (and picture) in the clip you posted (so obviously not news to you), she's ugly, but not fat...

[Blazing247]

Like I said, weeded out. The "advice" from her chief wasn't moral advice, it was sound career advice, and she'll be hard pressed to get into another department.

[Gan]

Does the phrase, "You'll never work again in this town" seem appropriate?

She would have been blacklisted from coast to coast.

[Clove]

The cop is clearly in the wrong, abusing the legal system.

Ya think? Let's just hope none of her dry-cleaning turns up missing.