The Chicago Tribune

A man who said he suffered kidney failure during physical training to become a Chicago Fire Department paramedic is suing the city and his training instructors.

Joseph Locasto, 32, participated in an intensive training program directed by fire and paramedic academy instructors that included climbing stairs carrying two 25-pound bags, pull-ups, push-ups and running, according to the suit filed Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court. Over two 12-hour days of training in May 2008, trainees received only intermittent, brief fluid breaks, the suit alleged.

After two days of training, Locasto went to a hospital when he began to urinate blood, the suit said. He received a diagnosis of a muscle condition caused by dehydration that led to kidney failure. Locasto required several months of dialysis, the suit claimed.

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