N.J. Supreme Court rules Plainfield couple can sue city's rescue squad

[NJN]

The wrongful-death lawsuit against the rescue squad was initially thrown out by a trial court, which said it was immune under the same statute that protects individual EMTs who are providing care in their professional capacity. An appeals court agreed.

But the Supreme Court agreed with the plaintiff, ruling the law’s language does not specifically shield an entire squad.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/07/nj_supreme_court_rules_plainfi.html

The text of the opinion can be found here: http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/opinions/supreme/A12810MurrayvPlainfieldRescueSquad.pdf

How much coverage, if any, does your agency have against civil litigation?

 

[DPM]

I'm not an expert on any of this stuff, but I think all this means is that the family can now TRY to sue the Rescue Squad... And as long as they acted within scope and as per county protocols then there shouldn't be a problem.

That said, I also have no idea what my company's coverage is in a situation like this.

 

[NJN]

This is true, they can now try to sue the squad. The question on liability coverage is for paid organizations as in New Jersey volly EMS agencies are covered under NJSA 2A:53A-13.1 which reads "No volunteer fire company, volunteer first aid, rescue or emergency squad, civil defense unit, which provides services for the control and extinguishment of fires or emergency public first aid and rescue services shall be liable in any civil action to respond in damages as a result of any~acts of commission arising out of the rendition in good faith of any such services."

 

[bstone]

HELD: Although N.J.S.A. 26:2K-29 provides immunity to “officers and members” of a rescue squad for civil damages in rendering “intermediate life support services in good faith,” the plain language of the statute does not provide immunity to a rescue squad as an entity. Thus, Plainfield Rescue Squad is subject to a civil suit for negligence based on the facts alleged by plaintiffs.

So the individual EMTs nor their officers, commanders, physicians, etc can be sued, you can sue the squad as a corporation/entity. The solution is simple, in that case. Simple close the squad and reopen the next day as Plainfield EMS Squad or some such, with the same address, same people, etc.

The bullet had perforated his aorta and severed his spinal cord.

It is highly unlikely he would have lived.

 

[firecoins]

They were doing CPR so it was a tramatic arrest. Interesting. Family is not going to win.

 

[Farmer2DO]

But, like we have discussed on here before, CPR is designed for the medical patient (usually cardiac) in cardiac arrest, not the trauma patient. Sitting on scene, doing CPR and running the ACLS algorithm on a penetrating trauma patient is a guarantee that he will die. His only chance was a thoracotomy (admittedly, a small chance).

Yes, it is highly unlikely that he would have lived, unless it happened on the doorstep of a trauma center that could crack his chest.

That doesn't mean at all that the family can't win. On the contrary, if they have an expert witness that convinces the jury that timely transport may have saved the guy's life, they very well may win.

 

[DrParasite]

They can sue, they probably won't win.

Plainfield Rescue squad is a mostly paid EMS agency, with numerous problems related to staffing and poor leadership, as well as very little funding from the city.

That all being said, I think it was the bullet from his family member that resulted in the death, not the actions of PRS.

 

[Shishkabob]

This puts an unsettling precedent that can effect other agencies going to field termination procedures...

 

[shiroun]

While I think sueing them is a little extreme considering the circumstances (severed spinal cord, damaged aorta. He would've bled out either way), I think that the squad needs to be taught how to handle certain traumas. A punctured torso with a gsw SHOULDN'T prompt CPR for 30 minutes. All that promotes is bleeding out.