# Woman sues ambulance company after sexual assault



## pdxnewsie (Aug 27, 2009)

http://www.katu.com/news/55222267.html

By Anna Song KATU News and KATU.com Staff 

PORTLAND, Ore – A woman who was sexually assaulted by an ambulance company’s paramedic said the company took no action against the paramedic even after it received complaints about him.

She is suing American Medical Response for $5 million.  

Royshekka Herring broke down Wednesday as a mental health expert told a jury about her trauma following her ordeal in an ambulance with paramedic Lannie Haszard.

“She can't get his eyes out of her head,“ said the expert.


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## ffemt8978 (Aug 27, 2009)

There's always more than one side to a story.



> The company's attorney countered by questioning why they hadn't made their experiences more of an issue immediately after it happened.
> 
> “Isn't it true that at no time before Mr. Haszard’s arrest did you notify AMR Northwest or AMR Inc. of what happened to you in the ambulance?” said James Dumas, attorney for AMR.
> 
> “No,” said the witness.



I don't understand how a company can be held liable for not taking action against an employee before they were informed that the employee may or may not have done something wrong.

And let's not forget ... accusations DO NOT equate to guilt.


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## Foxbat (Aug 27, 2009)

_All say they would have told AMR that he had demonstrated sexually offensive behavior while they were his patients - if AMR had asked._

So they expect ambulance service to ask every patient if he/she had been assaulted by a medic?


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## Bloom-IUEMT (Aug 27, 2009)

I guess that is the nature of the beast, companies are held liable for the actions of its employees.  If he has a record (which I would bet money he does) then AMR should definitely be sued.


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## Bloom-IUEMT (Aug 27, 2009)

Foxbat said:


> _All say they would have told AMR that he had demonstrated sexually offensive behavior while they were his patients - if AMR had asked._
> 
> So they expect ambulance service to ask every patient if he/she had been assaulted by a medic?



Lol, "thank you for choosing AMR as your emergency transport. So that we may serve all our patients to the fullest, please take time to fill out this comment card.  Pay particular attention to item #5 'Have you been sexually assaulted by our medics?  If yes, rate on a scale of 1 to 10 on how badly you were assaulted."


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## triemal04 (Aug 27, 2009)

Maybe you should try a)reading the article and applying some common sense to it, b)realizing that 1 single tiny brief news blurb does not equal the whole story, and c)think for yourselves.


> Herring’s attorneys called to the stand four additional women – who weren’t involved in the criminal case - ranging in age from their 30s to their 70s.


Gosh, that would seem to indicate that whatever testimony they gave was not considered admissible for the criminal court, but ok with civil; maybe because they only came forth after the conviction and were being used as corroboration...the responses are even more funny when you consider that the women referenced in the article aren't even suing.


> Herring only later learned those three other women had already complained to American Medical Response of similar assaults.


Oops...guess other people did complain without being prompted.


> She arrived at Legacy Emanuel Hospital screaming and saying Haszard had stuck his hand down her underwear and fondled her.


Guess she didn't wait to be asked either.

For anybody who knows about this already or bothers to learn a bit more before running at the mouth, this case is nothing but a huge blackeye for EVERYONE involved in EMS.  To sit and make jokes about it is beyond disgusting and pathetic.

Edit:  My favorite part right here:


ffemt8978 said:


> And let's not forget ... accusations DO NOT equate to guilt.





> He's already been convicted and sentenced to five years in prison *for what he did to her *and three other female patients.


There aren't even words for this.


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## Pudge40 (Aug 27, 2009)

I don't think that company is responsible at all. They were not informed by any of the accusers ( or so the article makes it seem). If they had no idea how can they take appropriate action? Sounds to me like a sue happy ambulance chaser of a lawyer trying to make a quick buck.


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## triemal04 (Aug 27, 2009)

Pudge40 said:


> I don't think that company is responsible at all. They were not informed by any of the accusers ( or so the article makes it seem). If they had no idea how can they take appropriate action? Sounds to me like a sue happy ambulance chaser of a lawyer trying to make a quick buck.


Maybe try learning a little more about this situation before you even attempt to comment on it; there's been plenty written, so it should be easy.
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/woman_molested_by_paramedic_su.html
Has just a but more info than the initial post.  And there's more out there if you really care.  Doesn't actually prove that AMR was fully negligent, but shows a history of problems, and, at the very least, after reading will allow people to be at least semi-knowledgeable about the situation.


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## Bloom-IUEMT (Aug 27, 2009)

Wow Respectfully, maybe you should calm down.  Lets not take everything so seriously.


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## Bloom-IUEMT (Aug 27, 2009)

Thanks for the post though. I read the article and its pretty shameful the way AMR acted.  It definitely hurts EMS but I don't think it's as catastrophic as you are suggesting. I don't think it will sully the good name of EMS but it's a tough blow to AMR and they deserve to be sued.  
But again, don't belittle people because they haven't found an entire article.  Maybe you can just post the link next time and say "Hey guys, I found more info on the article. Let's discuss."  Many times these threads that are started with snippets of news articles usually just serve to begin a discussion, not an indictment.  In fact, there have been a few stories where I can only find summaries or snippets of news stories. That's the nature of modern news reporting I guess. ^_^


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## triemal04 (Aug 27, 2009)

No, not catastrophic, but it is as far from good press as you can get, and does nothing but make EMS look bad...again.  Pisses me off that people make jokes about things like this and snap judgements before they even have the whole story.  The initial blurb was as brief as you can get, yet the first 3 posters (you too unfortunately) seemed to have all the info they needed to blow it off and crack jokes about it.


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## medic417 (Aug 27, 2009)

triemal04 said:


> Hold on bozo's.  (I don't really care if that's insulting to some or a violation of the new rules, from the responses here some people are to stupid for words)
> 
> Maybe you should try a)reading the article and applying some common sense to it, b)realizing that 1 single tiny brief news blurb does not equal the whole story, and c)think for yourselves.
> 
> ...



Tri I usually don't see eye to eye with you but I agree some pitifully non professional responses by some members on this topic.


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## triemal04 (Aug 27, 2009)

medic417 said:


> Tri I usually don't see eye to eye with you but I agree some pitifully non professional responses by some members on this topic.


Careful now...by reposting the edited portion of my post that may constitute you saying it...which could involve a warning...just sayin'...


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## ffemt8978 (Aug 27, 2009)

ffemt8978 said:


> There's always more than one side to a story.
> 
> 
> 
> ...





triemal04 said:


> No, not catastrophic, but it is as far from good press as you can get, and does nothing but make EMS look bad...again.  Pisses me off that people make jokes about things like this and snap judgements before they even have the whole story.  The initial blurb was as brief as you can get, yet the first 3 posters (you too unfortunately) seemed to have all the info they needed to blow it off and crack jokes about it.



Perhaps you missed the first sentence in my post, where I said we don't have the full story.  I wasn't trying to state that we did, nor was I passing judgment on anyone involved based upon what was presented in the original article.

As to my statement about accusations not equaling guilt, I was referring to the fact that just because a patient complains about something doesn't mean the person is guilty of it.  You seem to forget the fact that although this person was convicted in a criminal court for these actions, he was NOT CONVICTED at the time of the accusations, yet the plaintiff is seeking to hold the company liable for this persons guilt BEFORE he was convicted, based soley upon accusations.


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## triemal04 (Aug 27, 2009)

ffemt8978 said:


> Perhaps you missed the first sentence in my post, where I said we don't have the full story.  I wasn't trying to state that we did, nor was I passing judgment on anyone involved based upon what was presented in the original article.
> 
> As to my statement about accusations not equaling guilt, I was referring to the fact that just because a patient complains about something doesn't mean the person is guilty of it.  You seem to forget the fact that although this person was convicted in a criminal court for these actions, he was NOT CONVICTED at the time of the accusations, yet the plaintiff is seeking to hold the company liable for this persons guilt BEFORE he was convicted, based soley upon accusations.


And you need to have the full story because you obviously still don't.  (don't take that personally, it's not how it's meant)  The person suing AMR is one of the people Haszard was convicted of abusing; he did it, he's guilty, plain and simple.  The only thing up for dispute is if AMR knew enough (based on the accusations of 2 other women which they did investigate) prior to Herring's abuse to remove Haszard from duty AND if they should be liable for the actions of an on-duty employee.  Clear?


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## Bloom-IUEMT (Aug 27, 2009)

Man I tell you I would hate to :censored::censored::censored::censored:ing work with you guys.  Calm down.  People makes jokes to deal with stressful or traumatic situations all the time. It's a healthy coping mechanism, it's okay if you partake.  
 Stop taking yourselves so seriously. There is nothing you can do about it. Yeah it sucks, my feelings go out to the victims, my feelings go out to anyone's reputation soiled by this.  But hey guess what--- its happened before---it will happen again.  It happens in EVERY single profession you can think of.  What do you think will happen from belittling your colleagues? Will it strengthen anyone? Will it enact change? 

I didn't pass judgement on anyone, I specifically made a joke based on another posters comment.  But I do know that people who exhibit these behaviors have presented warning signs long before the fact and often have criminal records.  A person doesn't just wake up one day at age 55 and decide they are going to molest people.  
It is funny how my "snap, uninformed judgment" at these instances keep turning out to be correct.  That is because they aren't snap judgments, I spent a few years studying human behavior so I know a thing or too.

Why don't you use this opportunity to instill a sense of comradery in your fellow EMS workers and inspire others to make a change.  By sitting there and saying the sky is falling and people who took light of it are idiots why don't you channel that anger to something constructive.

I not trying to be punitive and I respect you as much as I can respect a person who has just insulted me.  But I think just because you think something will be the downfall of EMS doesn't mean we will all agree with you.  I often get admonished for taking things too seriously at my job but geeez man--- I bow to your direness.


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## ffemt8978 (Aug 27, 2009)

triemal04 said:


> And you need to have the full story because you obviously still don't.  (don't take that personally, it's not how it's meant)  The person suing AMR is one of the people Haszard was convicted of abusing; he did it, he's guilty, plain and simple.  The only thing up for dispute is if AMR knew enough (based on the accusations of 2 other women which they did investigate) prior to Herring's abuse to remove Haszard from duty AND if they should be liable for the actions of an on-duty employee.  Clear?



I agree with the guilty part for the medic, but we don't know if AMR was guilty YET.  That's all I was trying to point out, nothing more, nothing less.

But how many times have you seen a company sued for the actions of it's employees without them even being notified of any malfeasance prior to the lawsuit being served?


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## triemal04 (Aug 27, 2009)

This isn't going to be the downfall of EMS; just another news story that paints us as unprofessional buffoons.  Something we really don't need.  And I'm all for black humor; one of my favorite pastimes.  But there are certain situations when it's more prudent to keep your outh shut and hold the jokes...this would be one.


ffemt8978 said:


> I agree with the guilty part for the medic, but we don't know if AMR was guilty YET.  That's all I was trying to point out, nothing more, nothing less.
> 
> But how many times have you seen a company sued for the actions of it's employees without them even being notified of any malfeasance prior to the lawsuit being served?


Gotcha.  Yeah, this trial will I suppose give a "definative" answer to AMR's guilt...which I'm torn two ways on.  Go figure.  You have to remember though, this all happened I believe 1.5-2 years ago (the initial complaints and criminal trial), people had complained about Haszard before Herring, Herring complained to AMR while still at the hospital, and she was one of the people he was convicted of abusing.  Hell, read the link I posted; even before her complaint he was a known problem, which is why it's a bigger issue for them.


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## Bloom-IUEMT (Aug 27, 2009)

triemal04 said:


> This isn't going to be the downfall of EMS; just another news story that paints us as unprofessional buffoons.  .



Why is that?  As I said it happens in every profession and it will happen in the future. It won't make the public loose faith in EMS for christ's sake.   

 EMT's should not have a sense of humor?  I'm not knocking on the victims door and saying 'ha ha you got molested'  I dont need to be told this is a serious matter, I just choose to deal with it in my own way which doesn't include belittling others who may not see eye to eye with my view of the incident.  It's fine you want to get angry and loose sleep over it---doesn't mean I have to.  Now if this incident is becoming more prevalent then I will probably then choose to get concerned.  But unfortunately, this is human nature.  In fact, I just read an article about an EMT who murdered someone but I don't think the public will stop calling EMS because some meth head EMT in whatever state killed someone.  I don't think anything will get people to stop calling EMS and those who would stop over this isolated incident are what you might call 'paranoid schizophrenic.'


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## triemal04 (Aug 27, 2009)

Bloom-IUEMT said:


> Why is that?  As I said it happens in every profession and it will happen in the future. It won't make the public loose faith in EMS for christ's sake.
> 
> EMT's should not have a sense of humor?  I'm not knocking on the victims door and saying 'ha ha you got molested'  I dont need to be told this is a serious matter, I just choose to deal with it in my own way which doesn't include belittling others who may not see eye to eye with my view of the incident.  It's fine you want to get angry and loose sleep over it---doesn't mean I have to.  Now if this incident is becoming more prevalent then I will probably then choose to get concerned.  But unfortunately, this is human nature.  In fact, I just read an article about an EMT who murdered someone but I don't think the public will stop calling EMS because some meth head EMT in whatever state killed someone.  I don't think anything will get people to stop calling EMS and those who would stop over this isolated incident are what you might call 'paranoid schizophrenic.'


You seem to have a problem reading posts...first it's that I've said this is catastrophic (twice), now it's that I've said we shouldn't have a sense of humor.  <ahem> 





> And I'm all for black humor; one of my favorite pastimes.


  Try and stick to what's been said, not what you think/want to have been said.

I suppose you're right though; really, nobody should care that this happened, or about any of the other screwups that have made it into the news.  We should all just hold hand, sing kumbiyah and pass out hugs, right?  Sorry, doesn't work that way.  Each time some moron makes it into our ranks and then winds up in the news it reflects on each of us to one degree or another.  You can pretend otherwise, but the only person you are fooling is you.


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## Bloom-IUEMT (Aug 29, 2009)

triemal04 said:


> Try and stick to what's been said, not what you think/want to have been said.........I suppose you're right though; really, nobody should care that this happened, or about any of the other screwups that have made it into the news.


 
You should practice what you preach--- I didn't say no one should care about this incident. You assume I don't care because I made one joke about one little thing that was said in the article.  How does that equate to not caring?  Like I said, I deal with my problems differently than you choose to.  Doesn't mean I'm right, doesn't mean I'm wrong, doesn't mean I'm an "bozo."  
Furthermore, just because you didn't _say_ you thought this incident was catastrophic doesn't you don't come off as feeling that way based on how you _react_ to people's comments.  You are with all due respect, acting very immature (by insulting people) and taking this way too seriously.  I'd be willing to bet you have at least a few years experience in EMS correct?  If you do, you have undoubtedly seen --or have yourself---made jokes about patients, cardiac arrests, traumas, etc. to cope with the stressful aftermath.  Now when medics make these jokes do you think they aren't taking the incident seriously? Do you really think having a humorous outlook on something negates its importance?  

Also, I don't see where you get this ideas about me thinking we should all hold hands and sing kumbaiya except maybe to denigrate my points.  I said you shouldn't take this so serious that you are insulting other people because they don't agree with you.  If you believe there can only be two states of reaction to an incident ---one side not making any jokes and insulting everyone, and on the other being capricious and naively optimistic-- then you may have more problems with logic than I can address in this short message. 

Keep in mind I was sarcastically commenting on one aspect of the article.  The lady said she would've admitted the man assaulted her if AMR asked her.  However true it may be, it's still funny because who the hell would ask its patients if they were raped by its employees (hence the joke).   

Again I stress that I am troubled by what I heard and I will rue the day the public loses its faith in EMS personnel based on the acts of a few psychopaths.  I am proud to be in a profession that is extolled by the public and I don't want anyone to take that away.

We all agree the man is guilty. However AMR, whether they were aware of this man actions or not, can be held liable for his actions. To a certain extent, a company can be held criminally and/or civilly liable for the actions of its employees.


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## Aidey (Aug 29, 2009)

From reading the second article posted, I can see where AMR may have felt they didn't have enough concrete evidence to go on. In a 73 yo F with chest pain you are going to have to touch at least one breast to do a 12 lead, which puts her complaint into a bit of a grey area. 

The 35 year old woman who says he stared at her and "panted and sweated" while she was undressed, again has a complaint that can easily be explained by non-inappropriate actions. Staring may equal looking at retractions, or accessory muscle use. The picture of the ex-paramedic shows that he is probably a bit overweight, if not obese. Sweating and breathing heavily may be perfectly normal for him after pushing the gurney around. 

The guy plead guilty, so he obviously wasn't innocent, however, from just the article I can see where AMR may not have have enough concrete evidence to punish him, especially depending on the union rules.


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## flhtci01 (Aug 29, 2009)

Aidey said:


> From reading the second article posted, I can see where AMR may have felt they didn't have enough concrete evidence to go on. In a 73 yo F with chest pain you are going to have to touch at least one breast to do a 12 lead, which puts her complaint into a bit of a grey area.



Our class (with emphasis to the males) was taught to move a breast with the BACK of a GLOVED hand.  We were told that it would help us avoid that grey area.


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## Aidey (Aug 29, 2009)

I think most of us are taught that (now at least). But for some patients, it doesn't matter, they just think of it as "he touched my breast!". I could especially see how an older patient, who may have stricter ideas about what is proper between men and women, could get upset about it.


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## medichopeful (Aug 29, 2009)

Bloom-IUEMT said:


> Why is that?  As I said it happens in every profession and it will happen in the future. It won't make the public loose faith in EMS for christ's sake.



But something still needs to be done about it. 

This incident may not, in itself, make the public lose faith in EMS.  But incidents like this will continue to happen.  The only way to cut down on this is by jumping on the incidents quickly.

This is not an isolated incident.  There are other cases of abuse or misconduct by EMTs.  Put them all together, and you have a serious issue.  As with anything in the public eye, little things* can have major consequences.  Ever heard the phrase "If you've seen one, you've seen them all?"  For the average person, if they hear of one EMT doing something bad, they may assume that ALL EMTs are the same.  Think about law enforcement.  What is their public image?

Alright, I'm probably rambling.  So let me conclude by saying this: this incident, in itself, is not a catastrophe or a "death blow" to EMS.  But it is definitely contributing to the issue.



*N.B.: I am NOT saying that this incident is insignificant, "little," or should be ignored.  I just can't think of different wording.


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## VentMedic (Sep 10, 2009)

*Guilty*

*Ore. Court Finds Ambulance Company Guilty of Negligence*

http://www.emsresponder.com/article/article.jsp?id=10391&siteSection=1



> A Multnomah County jury said Wednesday that American Medical Response is guilty of negligence.
> 
> The verdict follows the conviction of AMR worker Lannie Haszard, who sexually assaulted a woman in an ambulance in 2007.
> 
> ...


 
Full story:

http://www.kptv.com/news/20656734/detail.html


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## rescue99 (Sep 10, 2009)

VentMedic said:


> *Ore. Court Finds Ambulance Company Guilty of Negligence*
> 
> http://www.emsresponder.com/article/article.jsp?id=10391&siteSection=1
> 
> ...



Good! They should be found guilty of keeping this person on their payroll.


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