Ambulance blocked in dispute over driveway...patient dies

[AJ Hidell]

It's not like they were in her way at all. In fact, she had to park way out of her way, fifty yards from her house, just to block the ambulance, instead of just pulling up to her house in her perfectly clear driveway. That's totally malicious. I say ban her from driving for the rest of her life, and rescind her healthcare coverage too.

 

[amberdt03]

The whole situation could have been avoided by them parking in the street.

The brief time I worked 911, we parked in the street. A little walking never hurt. Ten minutes over the 1 minute to walk down the driveway.

yeah i've never seen anyone park in the driveway before, always on the street. but you know how some people are lazy.

 

[silver]

yeah i've never seen anyone park in the driveway before, always on the street. but you know how some people are lazy.

that still doesnt make what she did any less wrong in the end if the medics were being lazy.

time to get out the push bumpers ^_^

 

[amberdt03]

that still doesnt make what she did any less wrong in the end if the medics were being lazy.

time to get out the push bumpers ^_^

i never said what she did was right. yeah she f'd up, would the guy have died regardless, we will never know.

 

[Sasha]

It's not like they were in her way at all. In fact, she had to park way out of her way, fifty yards from her house, just to block the ambulance, instead of just pulling up to her house in her perfectly clear driveway. That's totally malicious. I say ban her from driving for the rest of her life, and rescind her healthcare coverage too.

unless the ambulance parked in such a way that she couldnt pull into her driveway. which is totally possible. many people feel that because they drive an ambulance they own the road and do not have to adhere to any laws. which is incorrect.

 

[amberdt03]

that still doesnt make what she did any less wrong in the end if the medics were being lazy.

time to get out the push bumpers ^_^

i never said what she did was right. yeah she f'd up, would the guy have died regardless, we will never know, but he probably would have had a better shot if there wasn't a delay

 

[reaper]

yeah i've never seen anyone park in the driveway before, always on the street. but you know how some people are lazy.

You obviously don't work in areas where the house maybe a 1/8 mile off the street!

I pull in driveways, when ever possible. Makes loading pt easier and safer. Why load a pt in the street with traffic moving, if you can back into a driveway and load them?

Has nothing to do with being lazy. It has to do with thinking ahead and being safe.

 

[medic417]

You obviously don't work in areas where the house maybe a 1/8 mile off the street!

I pull in driveways, when ever possible. Makes loading pt easier and safer. Why load a pt in the street with traffic moving, if you can back into a driveway and load them?

Has nothing to do with being lazy. It has to do with thinking ahead and being safe.

I agree. Work smarter not harder. Even patient privacy can become an issue if you wheel them out into the street.

 

[Sasha]

I agree. Work smarter not harder. Even patient privacy can become an issue if you wheel them out into the street.

thats not patient privacy. if it was' we,d transport all patients with sheets over their head, incase someone caught a glance as you were loading.

 

[nomofica]

She didn't kill anyone. Even the prosecuting lawyer says that.

Sorry, I didn't see that.

Perhaps there should be a revision made to "misdemeanor obstruction" in the law books to include any and all emergency response vehicles rather than just LEO's with a nice fine attached to that.

 

[Buzz]

thats not patient privacy. if it was' we,d transport all patients with sheets over their head, incase someone caught a glance as you were loading.

I've had patients ask us to quickly get them in the truck and close the doors because everyone on their street was getting nosey and standing out on the porches trying to see what we were doing--not that we weren't already thinking about that. It's not such a concern that we would totally cover a patient (though I did have someone ask for that once--which only made someone yell something along the lines of "Oh my god. Someone died!") but more time outside is more time for people to see the patient.

 

[medic417]

thats not patient privacy. if it was' we,d transport all patients with sheets over their head, incase someone caught a glance as you were loading.

Any time you have a person exposed to the public for no good reason you are dealing with a privacy issue. You can save much exposure by backing in and getting patient loaded rather than parading them onto public streets where everyone can legally walk right up to the ambulance to see who is there and what is happening.

 

[amberdt03]

thats not patient privacy. if it was' we,d transport all patients with sheets over their head, incase someone caught a glance as you were loading.

have you been taking someone on a stretcher with a white sheet over their head and have someone walk by and gasp. priceless.

 

[emtfarva]

i don't see why the medics just didn't request pd asap. I would have moved the car with my ambulance. I wouldn't have a job after that, but i would feel better that i did everything possible to save his life.

 

[nomofica]

They probably did call for an LEO.

 

[ffemt8978]

yeah i've never seen anyone park in the driveway before, always on the street. but you know how some people are lazy.

Great idea for those that live/work in urban areas but not so great for rural areas.

Some of our driveways around here are a 1/4 to 1/2 mile long...I'm not parking out in the street just so I can walk that far with a patient on a stretcher across sand and gravel.

Laziness may be a factor where you are, but it is by no means the same everywhere.

 

[ffemt8978]

unless the ambulance parked in such a way that she couldnt pull into her driveway. which is totally possible. many people feel that because they drive an ambulance they own the road and do not have to adhere to any laws. which is incorrect.

True, but most areas specifically state emergency vehicles can park where ever they need to do do their job.

Unfortunately, unless we can see a photo of where both vehicles were parked in that driveway, all we can do is speculate.

 

[mycrofft]

Hmmmm. Engage 4 wheel.

Goodbye Mr Lawn, Sorry, Mr Cedar/Yew/Larch Tree!

 

[ffemt8978]

Goodbye Mr Lawn, Sorry, Mr Cedar/Yew/Larch Tree!

LOL...and some people say there is no place for fire in EMS. Trees in the way? No problem, let me get the chainsaw. Vehicle blocking you in? No problem, big ol' front bumper will take care of that. Violent/agitated bystanders? No worries...150 psi straight stream from a deck gun works wonders.

 

[Aidey]

Where I used to work I believe it was a Class A Misdemeanor to interfere with an ambulance/ambulance personnel or to fail to obey their instructions when you are interfering with a emergency scene.