A jury awarded a former Vallejo firefighter more than $2.3 million Friday at the end of a nine-week long trial in a case against the city.
Todd Milan, 47, sued the city alleging retaliation in 2013 after his employment was terminated in 2012.
The jury took about two days to deliberate before awarding Milan $2,357,089, $400,000 of which for emotional distress, while the rest is for past and future wage lost, said his lawyer Leslie Levy.
“We were ecstatic (with the verdict),” Levy said. “It vindicated him. The jury found that he had been retaliated against.”
The Oakland-based lawyer said Milan’s dismissal stemmed from a mobile home fire in 2011 that killed a paraplegic resident and injured the firefighter.
Milan was ready to enter the burning structure at the Olympia of Vallejo mobile home park to rescue the man, when he looked back to see his captain getting ready to go in with him.
“All (the captain) had to do was put on his helmet and gloves,” Levy said.
Vallejo firefighters are supposed to enter into a burning structure in pairs, she added. Milan then went ahead to go into the home after hearing screaming from inside expecting his captain to be seconds behind him.
However, while inside the blazing home, Milan did not see his captain. He then tried to pull the resident out of the bed but had to leave the structure because of a flashover, Levy said.
“He could have died if he didn’t leave,” she said.