Friday, June 24, 20052
Can EMTs be sued for malpractice?
"The wife of a man whose death came under investigation after a San Francisco Fire Department ambulance crew failed to take him to the hospital said Tuesday that rather than helping her husband, the crew had talked him out of getting treatment.
'He was complaining about his heart,' Sheila Narcisse Potter said of her husband, Elissa Potter Jr., 59. 'They kept saying, 'Well, it's pretty busy right now. If we were to take you, you would have to wait three to four hours to see a doctor.' They said it was really busy, and most of the hospitals were full.'" (via Subaqua Sternal Rubs)
"The wife of a man whose death came under investigation after a San Francisco Fire Department ambulance crew failed to take him to the hospital said Tuesday that rather than helping her husband, the crew had talked him out of getting treatment.
'He was complaining about his heart,' Sheila Narcisse Potter said of her husband, Elissa Potter Jr., 59. 'They kept saying, 'Well, it's pretty busy right now. If we were to take you, you would have to wait three to four hours to see a doctor.' They said it was really busy, and most of the hospitals were full.'" (via Subaqua Sternal Rubs)
Comments
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Carsten
Yes, EMS providers can be sued for malpractice... Some EMT's/Paramedics carry malpractice/liability insurance for that reason. Though EMS providers are not sued as frequently as MD's, since their average salary/assets doesn't leave much for the lawyers to recoup.
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Greg P
There are so many ugly ways this could go, all in search of the deep pockets.
Post a Comment »9:02 PM
First, the question of "Where did this suggestion about being busy come from, a supervisor, and ER, ...?"
I've never seen this kind of thing happen here (Louisville), seems kind of strange. Likely that we're only hearing the complaint part of the story.
9:06 PM