Kansas City, MO personal injury attorney Jarrett Johnson talks about what happened in a memorable fire truck accident case he handled. He explains that a couple of years ago, he took on a highly unusual case involving a man who was walking back from a dinner date with his girlfriend. As they were getting into their car—he on the driver’s side and she on the passenger side—a city fire truck ran a red light and collided with several vehicles. The resulting mass of twisted metal hurtled toward them. The man managed to jump out of the way, but watched in horror as his girlfriend was struck by the fire truck and other vehicles, forcing her into a brick building that then collapsed on top of her, killing her instantly. Although the man did not have a single scratch, he suffered severe emotional trauma from witnessing the tragic event, searching through the rubble for his longtime girlfriend, and waiting to learn the devastating outcome.

In Missouri, there is a legal concept called a “zone of danger” claim, which allows a person who has been emotionally traumatized by an accident—even without sustaining a physical injury—to seek compensation. He joined a significant lawsuit against the city, working alongside skilled attorneys representing the families of those who were killed in the accident. Despite the man not being injured in the traditional sense, he successfully obtained a settlement for him, acknowledging the profound emotional impact of the event.