Local News in Brief : Ex-Firefighter Takes $85,000, Drops Suit

A former Los Angeles County fire captain who alleged that he was mistreated after trying to revive an accident victim who had AIDS has agreed to accept $85,000 to drop his lawsuit against the county.

Jon Neil Galiher, 48, said he had second thoughts about the settlement, approved last week by the county Claims Board, because county officials had publicized the amount. But he said that he decided it was “time to move on” rather than pursue his $1.75-million suit in U.S. District Court. “I’m trying to put my life in order now,” Galiher said.

The suit alleged that, following the May, 1985, rescue in Topanga Canyon, his fears about exposure to AIDS and efforts to improve training and protection for his co-workers were greeted with ridicule and indifference by his bosses.

“I have no compunction then or now to deal with an AIDS patient,” said Galiher, who retired from the department last spring. “I’m just saying that we as emergency workers and health workers deserve the training and equipment to adequately give them the compassion they deserve without giving risk to ourselves.”

The settlement closed the only lawsuit involving public employees and on-the-job exposure to acquired immune deficiency syndrome in Los Angeles.