The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Aimee Dryer a pillar of strength
Plaintiffs rested their case Friday; defense begins Monday at Madison County Courthouse
Aimee Dryer told jurors she was constantly at her husband’s side, but she “couldn’t take his pain away.”
The plaintiffs in civil trial Dryer v. Scott Technologies rested their case Friday with testimony from the wife of the firefighter seriously injured in the 2007 City Lanes fire.
Dryer and husband, retired Firefighter Mitch Dryer, are suing Scott Technologies, the manufacturers of a personal safety alarm worn by firefighters. The Dryers claim the company knew about defects in the alarm, which caused it to fail and take longer for fellow firefighters to find him buried under flaming debris. This resulted in many permanent disabilities.
On Friday, Aimee Dryer, who was called to the stand by Walter Benson, the attorney who represents her and her husband, recounted April 22, 2007, the day of her husband’s’s accident.
Aimee was at home sleeping. Around 4 a.m., she was awakened by pounding on the door. A member of the Oneida Fire Department told her that her husband had been in an accident.
Dryer said she “instantly went into shock” and remembers getting dressed and heading to Oneida Healthcare, where Mitch was taken to await an airlift to the Burn Unit at Upstate Hospital in Syracuse. It wasn’t until later that day that she was able to see her husband, but she remembers being relieved when she finally did.
She said that as she kissed his forehead and told him that everything would be OK, she was thinking to herself that the road ahead would be tough.
In the weeks after he was injured, Aimee said she was by Mitch’s side non-stop, but despite that she said she sometimes feels guilty she didn’t spend enough time with him.
“When somebody you know gets hurt, you just wish it was you,” she said. “I couldn’t take his pain away.”
The Scott defense team did not cross-examine Aimee Dryer after her testimony.
The case will continue on Monday at 9 a.m. in state Supreme Court in Madison County. Then, attorneys representing Scott Technologies will begin presenting their defense.
Friday capped off the second week of the trial, which is expected to last about two more.