Lawsuit Filed Against EMS Company After Fatal Crash
The plaintiff is a 73-year-old Houstonian who was welcoming his wife home from the hospital. She had a urinary tract infection after a recent kidney transplant. The hospital requested that she be transported in an ambulance (as opposed to a private vehicle) where they said she would be more comfortable on a stretcher. The fateful choice to honor the hospital’s request resulted in the woman’s death.
The man, who was in the ambulance with his wife when the accident occurred, said that the ambulance had only traveled three blocks before striking an above-ground trolly. The ambulance was t-boned by the Metro Rail. The plaintiff’s wife died three months later after sustaining blunt force trauma to the head.
The widower has filed a lawsuit against the ambulance company that unsuccessfully transported his wife to the hospital. He is seeking damages for wrongful death and negligence. He also alleges that he sustained personal injuries in the accident that have reduced his mobility and caused him to live in chronic pain.
The driver of the ambulance is also named in the lawsuit and is accused of negligence.
What happened?
According to the lawsuit, which doesn’t clear up a lot of the details, the driver of the ambulance made a sudden and illegal left-hand turn from the right-hand lane directly into the path of an oncoming Metro trolley. The trolley was unable to brake in time and struck the ambulance at a reported 19 mph. The deceased sustained head trauma in the accident and eventually died of her injuries. She had just recovered from a kidney transplant.
No matter what happened, or how it happened, the ambulance driver is accused of breaking traffic laws and operating the vehicle unsafely. Turning the vehicle into the path of an oncoming trolley is one of the many head-scratching decisions that were made. The driver will be screened for drugs and alcohol, though no toxicology reports yet show that the driver was under the influence.
According to the family, the hospital let the ambulance driver know that the deceased was extremely fragile. She did not require immediate attention, so there was no reason to speed. It just seems like the ambulance driver made an extremely poor decision that cost a woman her life.
However, the ambulance company has yet to respond to the lawsuit. It appears likely that they will dispute the allegations, but on what basis is unknown. There is footage of the driver attempting to cross two lanes of traffic to make an illegal turn, so what defense they can muster in a case like this is unclear.
Talk to a Houston Personal Injury Attorney Today
If you are injured by a commercial vehicle, you can sue the company that owns the vehicle and the employee who was driving the vehicle at the time. Call the Houston personal injury attorneys at Livingston & Flowers today to schedule a free consultation and learn more about how we can help.
Source:
houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/Houston-family-allege-Orion-EMS-driver-s-16247240.php
