United Press International

The parents of an Amarillo, Texas, firefighter who died in a fire truck accident have filed a negligence lawsuit against the vehicle's manufacturer.

The lawsuit, which also names the truck's service providers, stems from the April 23, 2005, accident in which Amarillo fire department's Christopher Brian Hunton, 27, died, the Amarillo Globe News reported Wednesday.

Hunton fell through the rear passenger door of an American LaFrance ladder truck while rounding a turn en route to a call. He reportedly wasn't wearing his seat belt when the accident occurred.

The lawsuit alleged American LaFrance LLC, Freightliner LLC, Patriarch Partners LLC, Dalmatian Corp. and DaimlerChrysler Corp. designed the vehicle with a defective and dangerous door latch system and failed to give proper warnings of the danger. It also claimed Amarillo Truck Center, a truck dealership, was negligent in performing service and repairs to the rear passenger door latch.

The truck maker and the dealership did not comment, saying they'd seen the lawsuit. The petition also challenged the constitutionality of Texas' $750,000 cap on punitive damages in a product liability suit.