Firefighter’s family plans to sue city 82 years after his death

The family of a Queens firefighter who died 82 years ago after battling a blaze plans to sue New York City for negligence in his death, according to legal papers filed with the city.

The notice of claim alleges that FDNY officials were negligent in the way they cared for Thomas F. O’Brien, 48, after he was injured in October 1935 while fighting a fire in Manhattan.

O’Brien wasn’t given emergency medical treatment but instead put to bed at the firehouse, according to the legal papers filed with the city Comptroller by his grandson, Arthur O’Brien of Long Branch, New Jersey.

Thomas O’Brien’s relatives have said they are not after money. Their goal is to get the FDNY to classify Thomas O’Brien as having died in the line of duty, relatives said.

The FDNY previously rejected the family’s request to have O’Brien’s name added to the department’s remembrance wall in Brooklyn. The FDNY only adds the names of firefighters officially recognized by the department as life-of-duty deaths.

By law, notices of claim have to be filed within 90 days of a loss. Attorney Edward McCarty III, who is representing the O’Brien family, said the relatives only recently learned about the circumstances surrounding the firefighter’s death and therefore should be excused for filing the notice after such a long period. The law does allow late notice filings for good cause.

“We will argue that family was never informed of the true facts that went to his death. They were only recently informed,” said McCarty, adding that the FDNY chose not to disclose how O’Brien died.

A spokesman for the FDNY declined to comment and referred a questions to city lawyers who said the claim would be reviewed.

An August story in Newsday reported how the O’Brien family met resistance from the FDNY in an effort to get Thomas’s name added to the department’s wall of remembrance.

McCarty had uncovered a city medical examiner autopsy report that stated O’Brien, a resident of Richmond Hill, Queens, had died of a fractured skull and brain injuries suffered while fighting the fire at 349 West 26th Street, apparently from falling debris.

Department officials said that there didn’t appear to be any new information that would not have been considered in 1935. The wall, at FDNY headquarters in MetroTech, Brooklyn, has 1,147 names going as far back as 1865.

The autopsy found a fractured rear skull with a 6-inch-long break, with some blood clotting on the brain, as well as a high level of alcohol. McCarty said the alcohol came from O’Brien “self medicating” to counteract the severe head pain he was feeling. After being put to bed at the firehouse, O’Brien was found dead the next morning, McCarty said.

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.