A jury awarded $1.5 million to the family of a patient who died as the result of an injury she sustained after being dropped headfirst by an ambulance crew.
Barbara J. Grimes, 67, of Pembroke, Mass., was receiving dialysis treatment at Fresenius Medical Care in Plymouth on January 31, 2009. During the transport, American Medical Response EMTs Wesley Garber and Peter Crowell had rolled her onto a stretcher, which subsequently tipped over, causing Grimes to hit her head and suffer from a brain hemorrhage. Grimes tragically passed away five days after the incident due to the substantial injuries she sustained.
“This was an unnecessary death which should have been prevented by simple precautions. If the ambulance crew had only followed company safety policies regarding stretcher operation, it would not have toppled over. This needless death was easily preventable,” Marc Breakstone, the family’s attorney said in a comment.