# Wrongful-death suit filed against Cape May in ambulance death



## MariaCatEMT (Mar 31, 2006)

Wrongful-death suit filed against Cape May in ambulance death

*Wrongful-death suit filed against Cape May in ambulance death

By RICHARD DEGENER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6711
Published: Thursday, March 30, 2006
Updated: Thursday, March 30, 2006

CAPE MAY — The family of a Salem County woman who died after tumbling out of a city ambulance onto the Garden State Parkway has filed a lawsuit seeking damages.

Rebecca and Raymond Ryan, whose daughter Eleanor “Ellie” Ryan died of injuries suffered in the Jan. 24, 2004, accident, filed separate but similar lawsuits in U.S. District Court, Camden, and state Superior Court, Cape May Court House.

Besides suing the city, the Ryans are suing the Pilot House and the Blue Pig Tavern in Congress Hall. Ellie Ryan had allegedly been drinking at both establishments before an altercation led police to arrest her.*

Read more here...


----------



## Jon (Mar 31, 2006)

"Feigned an illness"  - Gee... It sounds like she had an acute allergy to handcuffs.

PD aren't MD's - they can't tell when you are faking it or not... if they deny care, they will get sued...

As for the "improper securing" of the patient? I have no clue... that will be intresting.

The other arguement is that she should have been in protective PD custody.

They will probably settle out of court for millions of dollars... regretable, really, because the PD and EMS staffers will be living with this on their conscious for years, and if it goes to trial, they might be cleared.


----------



## futuretoledoemt (Mar 31, 2006)

Is it just me or does this wreak of BS?

If she was “visibly and dangerously intoxicated.” and was asking/demanding/whatever for medical assistance, isn't the PD required to get her to the hospital? If they hadn't gotten her to a hospital weren't they also open to litigation?

Should she have been restrained?  That's the only thing I can think of... I don't know what the legalities are when it comes to that... I would have thought that if she was being transported from a jail that she'd be accompanied by a cop... If she was hell bent on getting out of the back of the ambulance, I'm not sure there was much they could do to keep that from happening... 

Jumping out of a moving ambulance going 65mph?  Ouch.  Bet that left a mark.


----------



## Flight-LP (Mar 31, 2006)

Actually there is a lot that could have been done. First off, she should have been restrained to protect the crew and the patient. Sedation could also be a consideration. Any attentive medic would have seen the patient start to unbuckle herself and should have intervened then, prior to her standing up. And under no circumstances should she have been allowed to walk to the back door. The medics and ambulance service are going to take the hit on that one. Other than that, I agree with previous responses. she could fake all day long, she still is going to the hospital. No jail in their right mind would take the liability of holding her without a medical consultation...............


----------



## Raf (Mar 31, 2006)

If someone is arrested and they need to be transported to the hospital, they should be transported with constraints. She should have been handcuffed.

Still though, why should all these police men and EMT's be troubled with some lady that doesn't even respect herself.

If you are going to drink, do it responsibly. The governemnt shouldn't take the fall for some moron who gets drunk and then jumps out of a vehicle. You can't sue someone to make up for your own stupidity.


----------



## Flight-LP (Mar 31, 2006)

They should be held accountable if the medics entrusted with her care were negligent by not keeping her on the gurney. Drunk or not, we are not here to pass judgement or determine which patients do or do not receive care. Everyone should be treated with the same level of care regardless of the cirumstances................


----------



## Wingnut (Mar 31, 2006)

Raf said:
			
		

> If you are going to drink, do it responsibly. The governemnt shouldn't take the fall for some moron who gets drunk and then jumps out of a vehicle. You can't sue someone to make up for your own stupidity.


 

I SO whole-heartedly agree with this statement on SO many levels.

On another note, my instructor once had a similar situation. Big guy (body builder) on PCP or something similar snapped the restraints and got out the back of the ambulance while it was moving. She reminded us that our personal safety comes first and not to get in the way if someone wants to jump out. 

As far as the cop riding in the back, I've seen a lot of medics turn down the accompanying officer because it was an ETOH female and they figured she couldn't do much damage. And the police don't normally offer to come along unless it's an obviously dangerous transport, most of the time you have to ask them.

But there is a policy here if one of us picks up a pt from the jail, a CO comes along.


----------



## Raf (Mar 31, 2006)

You're right Wingnut, I totally forgot about the "YOUR safety comes first of the EMT/Paramedic" even though that is the most important concept an EMT/Paramedic must remember.

If a patient in anyway may harm you, just back away. It is not our job to interfere. This provides even more evidence that supports that this case was not the ambulance crew's fault!


----------



## MedicPrincess (Mar 31, 2006)

Flight-LP said:
			
		

> Any attentive medic would have seen the patient start to unbuckle herself and should have intervened then, prior to her standing up.


 
I am going to have to disagree, ever so slightly with this.

How long would it take to unbuckle the straps, get off the cot, and jump from the ambulance?  2 or 3 seconds for a determined person?  If your in the captians chair, how long would it take you to get to that patient?

I can see something like this happening in our amublances, just by the way they are set up.  In order to use the radio to call report to the hospital we must be at the head of the stretcher.  It would require the Medic to put down the radio and get around the stretcher to stop a person from launching themselves out the back.  And if the person is to the door and has is open before the Medic gets there, should he grab onto the patient and risk being taken with him out the door at 60 MPH?  I can't say as though I would.

Also, how many of you never take your eyes off your patient for the entire transport?  There are going to be times when you cannot just stare at your patient.  Perhaps when moving from the bench seat to the captains chair to call report.  Or you look at your monitor so you can run your strip.  Or you reach in the cabinet in the back for a blanket.  Does that make the medic inattentive?  Because he took his eyes off his patient for a couple seconds?

As do most of us, every day we transport drunk and/or psych patients.  Our protocols do not call for restraints on these patients unless they are a danger to us/themselves.  

I do agree, since this patient was in custody, she should have had someone escorting her with the EMS crew.  Every person we have been called to the jails (adult or juvenile detention), if we were transporting either a deputy or corrections officer rode with us.


----------



## Jon (Apr 3, 2006)

Wingnut said:
			
		

> As far as the cop riding in the back, I've seen a lot of medics turn down the accompanying officer because it was an ETOH female and they figured she couldn't do much damage. And the police don't normally offer to come along unless it's an obviously dangerous transport, most of the time you have to ask them.
> 
> But there is a policy here if one of us picks up a pt from the jail, a CO comes along.


 
I've become a small pain-in-the-:censored: :censored: :censored:  for the local PD. I WILL not let them put someone in cuffs in my rig without having PD along... I don't carry a cuff key, and the cuffs need to bem able to be taken off.

As for PD "following me to the ED" - NO! Their butt needs to be in my ambulance.


----------

