Claim filed against city in May accident response

A claim has been filed against the city of Yuma seeking $10 million for the death of a young man who was presumed dead and left untreated for about an hour in the wreckage of the pickup he was driving after an accident on May 23.

Jacob William Schlamann, 20, died three days later at St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix.

The city has been served a notice of claim/administrative demand on behalf of Schlamann's parents, William and Melissa Schlamann, City Attorney Steve Moore confirmed Tuesday.

The claim was prepared by Buddy Rake, a Phoenix attorney. He could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

A. James Clark, a Yuma attorney and local counsel on the case, said that in accordance with state statute, the claim was sent to the city in hopes of reaching a settlement. Notices of the claim were sent to Moore, Mayor Larry Nelson, City Administrator Mark Watson, Fire Chief Jack McArthur and Lora Kohmetscher, risk management coordinator.

The claim is not a lawsuit, Clark said.

But if a satisfactory settlement is not reached, the claim will be followed by a lawsuit, he said.

The Schlamann family declined to comment.

"It was a tragic accident," said Greg Hyland, city spokesman. "Our hearts go out to the family."

He said the city couldn't comment further on the legal case.

The claim documents the roll-over, head-on collision that occurred the afternoon of May 23 in the 2000 block of West 1st Street. Schlamann was driving a 1997 Ford Ranger when it crossed the center line and struck a 2007 Ford Border Patrol vehicle occupied by two El Centro Border Patrol agents. The collision caused the Ranger to roll over.

Schlamann initially was declared dead at the scene. While Schlamann was left unattended in the vehicle, paramedics were treating the six other victims involved in the wreck.

A medical examiner, who had been called to the scene, detected signs of life in Schlamann about an hour later, and firefighters extricated him from the vehicle. Schlamann was transported to YRMC and then airlifted to the Phoenix hospital, where he died on May 26.

According to the claim, "Yuma Fire Department's decision to pronounce Jacob dead at the scene deprived him of the 'golden hour' he desperately needed to survive."

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Joyce Lobeck can be reached at jlobeck@yumasun.com or 539-6853.