$8.5 Million Settlement for Family of Assistant Fire Chief Killed in Neiman Marcus Fire
The Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. (Neiman Marcus) and Amprobe Instruments, Advanced Test Products, Inc., (Amprobe) have agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by the estate of a fire investigator killed when a fire erupted at the Neiman Marcus store in Northbrook, Illinois, for $5 million. This settlement is in addition to a prior settlement of $3.5 million in 2006 with a former co-defendant. The estate was represented by Chicago personal injury lawyer Philip Harnett Corboy, Jr. of the top-ranked Chicago law firm, Corboy & Demetrio.
On June 21, 1999, in the early afternoon, there was a power failure at the Neiman Marcus store at the Northbrook Court Shopping Center. Firefighters from the Northbrook, Illinois, Fire Department responded to the outage and shoppers and employees were evacuated from the store. A fire investigator for the Department, and several Neiman Marcus employees went to the electrical vault in the basement to inspect the transformers. During the inspection, one of the transformers, being examined with the help of Amprobe voltmeters, exploded and a fire erupted. The fire investigator was burned and transported to the hospital. He died ten days later from his injuries.
Attorney Corboy stated,
This fire investigator was 48 years old and married with two teenage sons when his life was tragically taken. The fire department lost a beloved member and his family has been devastated by their loss. The family is a very spiritual one and its members have patiently waited for this lawsuit to resolve itself. With this settlement, his widow and two sons, can put the lawsuit behind them.
Premises Liability Wrongful Death Settlement
As a result of this settlement, Neiman Marcus will pay $2.5 million and Amprobe will pay $2.5 million.