Federal Signal Beats Firefighters’ Hearing-Loss Appeal

Siren maker Federal Signal Corp. prevailed Aug. 20 in an appeal by two Pennsylvania firefighters who alleged they suffered permanent hearing loss.

Roger Maher and Carl Roell were among 247 firefighters who sued Federal Signal over its Q2B siren in a mass suit in the state, the Pennsylvania Superior Court said. Similar litigation has taken place in Illinois and elsewhere.

Maher and Roell needed expert testimony on the effectiveness of their proposed alternative design and couldn’t simply rely on evidence that it met an industry standard’s requirements, the Superior Court panel’s majority said.

Maher and Roell said the company should ...