Maine Paramedic Killed in Ambulance Crash

Sun Journal

TURNER, Maine-- A Wilton paramedic was killed early this morning when an ambulance he was riding in collided with a pickup truck at the intersection of Route 4 and Potato Road, police say.

Allan Parsons, 46, was tending to a patient in the back of the Med-Care ambulance, en route from the Rumford area to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. Parsons died at the scene, according to the Andrsoscoggin County Sheriff's Department.

In a written release, Sheriff Guy Desjardins reported that the ambulance -- emergency lights reportedly flashing -- collided with a black pickup crossing Route 4 from Potato Road to Lone Pine Road at about 3 a.m.

The driver of the ambulance was identified as Arlene Greenleaf, 68, of Bethel. She had to be extricated from the ambulance.

The driver of the truck was identified as Christopher Boutin, 29, of Turner. He was ejected from his vehicle.

Greenleaf and Boutin, along with the patient in the ambulance, were taken to CMMC.

Paramedic Sexually Assaulted Woman In Ambulance

CLEARWATER, FLA–SunStar paramedic Patrick Livingston was arrested by Pinellas County

Posted on Thursday, 3 of July , 2008

Sheriff’s detectives Wednesday afternoon for sexual battery after allegedly assaulting a woman in an ambulance that was taking her to the hospital.

Police said Livingston, 38, of Clearwater allegedly sexually battered a female patient in her mid-20s by touching the victim in a manner which was inappropriate and not medically necessary for her condition. The female was being transported in the ambulance from her home to a local hospital. The incident occurred Thursday night, June 26 and was reported by the victim the following day.

The victim’s name, and any information that could identify the victim is not being released due to the nature of the crime.

Detectives say Livingston was arrested after making certain statements during interviews with them.

Paramedic Sexually Assaulted Woman In Ambulance

CLEARWATER, FLA–SunStar paramedic Patrick Livingston was arrested by Pinellas County Sheriff’s detectives Wednesday afternoon for sexual battery after allegedly assaulting a woman in an ambulance that was taking her to the hospital.

Police said Livingston, 38, of Clearwater allegedly sexually battered a female patient in her mid-20s by touching the victim in a manner which was inappropriate and not medically necessary for her condition. The female was being transported in the ambulance from her home to a local hospital. The incident occurred Thursday night, June 26 and was reported by the victim the following day.

The victim’s name, and any information that could identify the victim is not being released due to the nature of the crime.
Detectives say Livingston was arrested after making certain statements during interviews with them.

Medical helicopter crash deaths on record pace

By Alan Levin, USA TODAY

The fiery midair collision between two helicopters in Flagstaff, Ariz., on Sunday put this year on pace to be the deadliest ever for air ambulance crashes.

So far in 2008, 16 people have died in emergency medical helicopter crashes, including six people in Sunday's crash. That's two shy of the record 18 deaths in 2004, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

"Unfortunately we are moving toward a record-breaking year here," NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker said in a phone interview after traveling to the accident scene Monday. "We are hoping that this accident will sensitize the industry and the regulators to immediately begin a recognition of what is necessary to prevent these accidents."

The NTSB issued a special report in 2006 highlighting issues that had caused an upsurge in emergency helicopter crashes, particularly during nighttime and in poor visibility.

The number of crashes and fatalities fell briefly after the report was issued and the Federal Aviation Administration increased oversight of the industry, but they have risen this year.

An Air Methods helicopter collided with a Classic Helicopters flight about one-quarter mile from the Flagstaff Medical Center at about 3:45 p.m. Sunday. The Air Methods craft was heading north while the other helicopter was going in the opposite direction, Rosenker said. Both were following normal paths to the hospital. The collision occurred in clear weather, Rosenker said.

The victims included firefighter Michael McDonald, 26, who was being taken to the hospital on the Classic flight after being injured near the Grand Canyon. Also dead were pilot Tom Caldwell, 54, and paramedic Tom Clausing, 36. Flight nurse James Taylor, 36, was in critical condition.

All three aboard the other helicopter died: pilot Pat Graham, 50, flight nurse Shawn Shreeve, 36, and patient Raymond Zest, 54.

The collision between two air ambulance helicopters was the first in history, according to NTSB records. Previously, most fatal accidents occurred in poor visibility, often late at night, and NTSB's suggested safety improvements focused on those factors.

Investigators do not know why the pilots apparently failed in one of the most basic concepts of flight safety: to "see and avoid" other aircraft, Rosenker said.

Gary Sizemore, president of the National EMS Pilots Association, said that crews typically have several layers of protection against midair collisions. They often report by radio when approaching a hospital and frequently will announce their presence on a special radio frequency reserved for other helicopters, he said. The two helicopters were not under the supervision of air traffic controllers, Rosenker said.

The collision was recorded on a hospital surveillance camera and the recording will be sent to the NTSB's Washington, D.C., lab for analysis, Rosenker said.

Industry officials defended the safety record of air ambulance flights, saying 500,000 patients are transported safety each year.

"There is a lesson in every accident that needs to be communicated to increase safety," said Christopher Eastlee, government relations manager for the Association of Air Medical Services.

Air-ambulance crews among most likely to die

By Alan Levin, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Air-ambulance helicopters have the worst fatal crash record in aviation, and their crews are among the most likely to die on the job, an expert told a panel of federal investigators Tuesday.

The rate of fatalities per 100,000 air-ambulance employees over the past 10 years exceeds other dangerous professions such as logging or deep-sea fishing, said Ira Blumen, program director of the University of Chicago Aeromedical Network.

DEADLY YEAR: Medical helicopter crash deaths on record pace

Blumen's comments came during the first day of a hearing by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is examining the industry's burgeoning accidents.

"It's a high-risk occupation. It's alarming," Blumen said.

Relatively few patients have died: 34 out of about 4.3 million transported since 1972, Blumen said. It's unclear why; one possible explanation is that air-ambulance flights spend more time flying without a patient than while carrying one. A typical emergency run involves three trips: one to pick up the patient; another to transport the victim; and a third to return to the helicopter base after the patient is dropped off.

Another reason is that crewmembers outnumber patients three or four to one on flights.

Tearful relatives of recent crash victims demanded that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) take action to stem the death toll.

Steve Ogletree, 44, an airport manager whose 14-month-old granddaughter, Kirstin Blockinger, died in a crash Oct. 15, said he was stunned by how lightly the government regulates the industry compared with airlines. "I say to the FAA, shame on you," Ogletree said.

The FAA has pushed the industry to adopt stricter safety standards but has emphasized voluntary change because it can be accomplished faster than writing new regulations, FAA spokesman Les Dorr said.

Since 1972, 264 people have died in air-ambulance crashes, according to Blumen. Nine fatal crashes since December 2007 have killed 35 people. That's the highest death toll in the industry's history.

The accident statistics for the USA stand in stark contrast to Canada, which has not had a fatality since 1977. Unlike most companies in the United States, Canada requires two pilots on each helicopter, and flights are conducted under more rigorous standards for weather, said Sylvain Séguin, a vice president of Canadian Helicopters.

The NTSB hearing is trying to pinpoint what could be driving the recent increase in fatal crashes. Several witnesses raised concerns about whether competition to make the helicopter flights — which can pay as much as $10,000 — could be driving up the accident rates.

"The safety board is concerned that these types of accidents will continue if a concerted effort is not made to improve," NTSB member Robert Sumwalt said.

999 boss hits out at knife threat

Reporter: Beatriz Ayala

A SENIOR ambulance official has hit out after emergency crews received knife threats

Delwyn Wray, North-West Ambulance Service area director, said: “This was an unacceptable act of violence on defenceless ambulance workers carrying out a valuable service.”

Police were called to an address in Vale Drive, Coldhurst, last Tuesday following reports that an ambulance crew were being threatened.

Officers arrived at the scene to discover that the ambulance crew — a 43-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman — had locked themselves in a downstairs room and were being threatened after responding to an emergency call at the address.

Mr Wray said: “Our ambulance staff save lives on a daily basis and it is saddening that some individuals are subjecting them to violence and abuse.

“This not only places the crews at risk, but also prevents them from doing their jobs.

“Patients’ lives can also be put at risk.”

Last year in the Greater Manchester area alone there were 364 reports of verbal and physical assaults on ambulance staff. Many incidents are still not being reported.

Mr Wray said: “There is an unacceptable level of violence and abuse directed towards staff that we simply will not tolerate and we want to send out a very clear message to anyone who assaults our crews, either verbally or physically, that they face the very real possibility of prosecution.

“On this occasion the crew had a very lucky escape and were not harmed but were left shaken and upset by the incident.

“The police acted swiftly to make an arrest and we will co-operate fully with them in their investigations.”

A 44-year-old man has been charged with false imprisonment, threats to kill and affray.

He will appear before Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, on Thursday.


http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/8/news/14893/999-boss-hits-out-at-knife-threat

paramedic's bike from church

DailyRecord.co.uk May 28 2008

A PARAMEDIC'S bike with two baskets of life-saving drugs was stolen from inside a church.

The haul included liquid diazepam and an electric shock box used to treat heart attacks.

The theft took place on Monday at St George's West church in Shandwick Place, Edinburgh.

The paramedic was based in the church while roadworks were being carried out in the city.

A police spokesman said: "These drugs should not be taken without prescription."

Woman upset over sirens chases paramedics with rolling pin

SARASOTA - A Sarasota County woman is back home today charged with aggravated assault on EMS personnel.

Authorities say 50-year-old Marjorie Kelley was put behind bars after chasing paramedics with a rolling pin at her home on Bahia Vista Street.

Officials say the ambulance showed up to Kelley's house on Wednesday after she called reporting chest pains.

Deputies say Kelley told the fire department not to use their lights and sirens. When they did, she went after three paramedics yelling with a rolling pin.

She is out on bond and charged with three counts of aggravated assault.

FAMILY OF SLAIN NEW YORK TIMES REPORTER DAVID ROSENBAUM SETTLES

FAMILY OF SLAIN NEW YORK TIMES REPORTER DAVID ROSENBAUM SETTLES MEDICAL MALPRACTICE LAWSUIT WITH HOWARD UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL IN WASHINGTON D.C.

In Washington D.C., Howard University Hospital and Daniel and Dorothy Rosenbaum, the adult children of deceased New York Times reporter David Rosenbaum, have reached a settlement in the medical malpractice and negligence lawsuit filed against D.C. emergency workers and the hospital.

The 63-year-old reporter, who had just retired after 30 years of working for the Times, was seriously injured during a street robbery in Northwest Washington D.C. on January 26, 2006. Rosenbaum’s son and daughter filed their medical malpractice and negligence lawsuit a year ago last November after the D.C. inspector general’s office found that paramedics, firefighters, police, and hospital personnel failed to treat Rosenbaum.

Emergency workers found Rosenbaum on the sidewalk in a barely conscious state. The report, however, says that they did not realize he was seriously injured. They thought he was drunk. The ambulance he was riding in took Rosenbaum to Howard University Hospital, instead of a hospital located closer to the crime scene, because one of the workers had personal business in that area.

Rosenbaum was placed on a gurney at the hospital where he was left unattended. A doctor did not examine him for over 90 minutes. He was finally given a neurological exam nearly four hours after he arrived at the hospital. He died two days later.
Rosenbaum’s children were also upset that police did not follow up on a lead related to a beating crime that occurred several weeks before their father was assaulted. One of the men convicted of attacking Rosenbaum was also the attacker in the earlier assault.

Rosenbaum’s children say the failures to act by emergency workers, police, and the hospital were partially responsible for their father’s death. Rosenbaum’s children reached a settlement with the District in March. They agreed to forgo financial compensation as long as the city revised the way its emergency medical response system works. The details of the agreement with Howard University Hospital remain confidential.

If someone you love died because of the negligence of a hospital, police, emergency workers, a nursing home staff, or anyone else, you should contact a Maryland or Washington D.C. personal injury lawyer right away.

Hospitals are supposed to administer patients with a reasonable standard of care. Failure to do so is medical malpractice and grounds for a claim or lawsuit.

http://www.marylandaccidentlawblog.com/2007/12/family_of_slain_new_york_times.html

Crash Victim Wrongly Declared Dead Dies

By DAVID SCHOETZ

A Texas woman who was declared dead in a car crash and found to be alive after the emergency medical crew left the scene has since died of her injuries, but San Antonio emergency officials deny they did anything wrong.

Erica Smith, 23, was left unattended in freezing temperatures with a yellow tarp draped over her body for up to two hours early Sunday morning after she was declared dead by the ambulance crew. The two crew members worked instead on two other people who were injured in the car crash before 4 a.m. Those victims were both rushed to a hospital.

Smith, a student at Southwest Texas State University, was discovered to be alive about 6 a.m.by an official from the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office and the ambulance crew was summoned back to the crash site, according to Henry Valadez, a San Antonio newsman who shot footage at the crash.

Smith died Monday afternoon from her wounds, which were described in the police report as "severe head trauma."

When Valadez arrived at the scene, Smith's body had already been covered, he told ABC News. He had filmed the crash scene and left when he heard over the police scanner a call for the emergency personnel to return to the accident immediately.

"One of the police officers who was investigating the scene said, 'You know, it's kind of spooky, but I thought I saw the lady breathing,'" Valadez said. The cameraman said he returned to the scene and watched as emergency personnel finally removed Smith, who was still seated in the car, and transported her to the hospital.

There was no immediate word whether the delay in treating her contributed to Smith's death, but one person who identified himself on Smith's MySpace page as her younger brother said he was filled with "anger and confusion."

Valadez, who used to drive an ambulance in San Antonio, says that he is critical of the fire department's efforts. "They assumed," Valadez said of the premature death determination. "This is where the lawyers are going to eat them alive."

The San Antonio Fire Department did not respond to a call for comment today, but Chief Charles Hood defended his department's response at a news conference Monday, describing the response to the crash as "triage."

"What happened was what happened," Hood said Monday, acknowledging that he did not think any treatment was administered to Smith. "They triaged."

Hood said that an investigation into his department's response will continue, but added that he did not feel like any employees would be punished because of the incident. He also met with Smith's family Monday.

"I can offer sympathy and tell them I'm sorry and give them a hug," Hood said. "I'm very sorry that it happened."

'Two Beers and Two Shots'
Smith was a passenger traveling on a San Antonio highway in a Honda shortly before 4 a.m. Sunday when 28-year-old Jenny Ann Ybarra crossed from the northbound lane into the southbound lane in her silver Pontiac, striking the Honda head-on, according to the San Antonio Police Department crash report. San Antonio emergency medical personnel arrived and determined that Smith was dead, placing a tarp over her body and then administering first aid to the other two injured passengers. More than an hour later, Smith was discovered to be breathing. She was then airlifted to the Brooke Army Medical Center where she died Monday. Ybarra, who allegedly admitted to San Antonio police at the scene that she had "two beers and two shots" before driving, was charged with intoxication assault, a third degree felony in Texas, after videotaped field sobriety tests were conducted.

Ybarra was booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center and released on $5,000 bond. Ybarra will likely face additional charges in connection with the crash.

Friends of Smith, who lived in Austin and worked part time at an eatery while attending college, first offered a flood of prayers that the young woman was able to recover from her wounds. "I will continue to pray that the Lord guides the doctors in every decision they make and wraps his arms around your family and friends as they get through every day," one friend Kimberly wrote. "You are so precious and such a fighter." But around 4:30 p.m. Monday, the postings went from words of encouragement to somber words of remembrance. A poster who identified himself as Smith's little brother referred to his sister as his "hero." He wrote, "As the tears poor from my face, the anger and confusion ill (sic) be faced with for the rest of my life are at its peak, i am smiling. … i am blessed to know now who my gardien (sic) angel is. i know that in every decision i make will be you making the right one for me."

Paramedic linked to sex abuse in ambulance

PORTLAND, Ore. - A Portland paramedic was arrested Monday on sex abuse charges after allegedly assaulting a patient during a ride to the hospital over the weekend.

Police are concerned because the paramedic, Lannie L. Haszard, was at the center of a similar investigation last spring. But authorities didn't have enough evidence to bring charges in that case.

Haszard, 61, of Vancouver, is facing two counts of first-degree sex abuse.

Police said he responded to a call for medical help in an American Medical Response (AMR) ambulance Saturday. While riding in the back of the ambulance to the hospital, police said, he allegedly sexually assaulted the female patient. The woman called police about the assault after arriving at Legacy Emanuel Hospital.

Detectives investigated the complaint and arrested Haszard Monday morning.

Haszard, who has worked for AMR ambulance in Portland since at least 1999, was scheduled to make his first court appearance on the charges Tuesday afternoon.

Detectives are seeking information from other women who may have received emergency medical care from him while he was working as a paramedic.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Todd Prosser at (503) 823-9320 or Detective Vincent Cui at (503) 823-0466.

http://www.katu.com/news/local/12337806.html

Thieving paramedic faces jail

A PARAMEDIC faced jail last night after stealing bank cards from a heart attack victim and withdrawing £500.

Sick David Wright, 50, rifled through the dead man’s wallet after answering a 999 call, a court heard.

He found a piece of paper with a PIN code and three cards.

But he was caught on a bank’s CCTV still wearing his uniform as he withdrew £500.

He spent it on food, a £200 MP3 player for his wife and £160 for a school trip.

Victim David Denbow, 65, had collapsed dying in his back garden in Sandiacre, Derbys, last June.

Cops treated the death as a suspected murder after the theft was uncovered.

It was “devastating” for Mr Denbow’s family ? who had to re-identify the body, Derby Crown Court heard. But Wright was traced to his work in Stapleford, Notts.

Prosecutor Steven Gosnell said: “Anyone who attends on the scene as a paramedic is to be trusted by society. This was a gross breach of trust.”

Wright, of Ilkeston, Derbys, admitted theft and also pleaded guilty to stealing £40 from another patient in January 2005.

He has been sacked by East Midlands Ambulance Service.

Judge Abbas Mithani bailed Wright but warned a jail term was “likely” when he is sentenced next month.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article25378.ece

Paramedic and a Volunteer Killed in Ambulance Crash on Long Island

SELIM ALGAR and ED ROBINSON

Courtesy of New York Post

Heidi Behr

Tragic young mom.

May 4, 2005 -- A paramedic and a volunteer were killed yesterday when their ambulance slammed into a tree yesterday on the way to a Long Island hospital. The volunteer, Heidi Behr, 23, of Riverhead was a hard-working single mother who leaves behind a severely disabled 14-month old son, her mother said.

The other victim, William Stone, 30, was a professional paramedic from Rocky Point. A relative said he was engaged to be married.

The Riverhead Town Volunteer Ambulance had picked up a heart patient from Jamesport and was traveling west on Route 25 toward Central Suffolk Hospital in Riverhead at around 1:30 p.m. when the driver attempted to pass a dump truck on the right near the intersection of Church Lane in Aquebogue.

The ambulance driver lost control, and his vehicle left the roadway and crashed into a large tree, which caved in the steel side.

Behr and Stone had been riding in the back of the ambulance

The ambulance driver, Eric Maas, 29, survived as did the patient, Joseph Wowack, 67, who was strapped to a gurney in the back.

Wowack was taken in stable condition to the emergency room at Central Suffolk Hospital in another ambulance,

Behr's tearful mother, June, said her daughter volunteered for the town's volunteer ambulance and worked 13-hour days three days a week at a private ambulance company. She hoped to one day become a trauma nurse.

"She died doing what she loved to do," the mother said. "She saved a man who was having a heart attack."

Behr's son, Jared, suffers from cerebral palsy, and the young mom pushed herself so she could pay his medical bills.

"She was working hard so her son could have a good life," her mother said.

Maas' mother, Barbara, said he was released from the hospital late last night.

"He's fine," she said.

Maas was shaken up by the death of his crewmates, who worked with him for six years, the mother said.

She said her son claimed the dump truck driver "cut him off."

Investigators questioned the dump-truck driver, but no charges were filed.

Wake/Funeral information for Heidi Behr, EMT, Riverhead VAC

Wake: F.J. Mclaughlin Funeral Home

336 Marcy Avenue, Riverhead, NY 11901

(631) 727-3388

Thursday, May 5, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Friday, May 6, 2 p.m. 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

EMS Department Service Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Mass: Saturday, May 7, at 10 a.m.

St. John's Catholic Church

Saint John's Place, Riverhead, NY 11901

Burial in Sacred Heart Cemetery, Cutchogue, NY

A memorial fund has been established for Behr's son. Checks can be sent to the Jared Behr Fund at North Fork Bank, 1080 Rt. 58 in Riverhead, New York 11901, attention to Patty.

Visitation and Funeral information for Paramedic William Stone

Visitation/EMS and Firematic Service: Bryant Funeral Home

411 Old Town Rd., Setauket

Friday, May 6, 7-10 p.m.

Prayer Service: Saturday, May 7, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the funeral home.

According to NY Newsday.com, Stone's family has requested that instead of flowers, donations be made to the William Anthony Stone Memorial Foundation, in care of the Central Islip-Hauppauge Volunteer Ambulance Corps, 4 Pineville Rd., Central Islip, NY 11722.

Paramedic Fired After Mishandling A Corpse

A bizarre story out of Fort Dodge, where a paramedic was fired and denied benefits after allegedly handling a corpse inappropriately.

Scott Kirhart of Manson worked for Trinity Regional Medical Center. According to state records, he was fired after sticking his fingers in the mouth of a dead person which he was transporting to the morgue.

A security officer who was present exhibited a "strong reaction," according to state records. As a result, Kirkhart thrust his fingers into the dead person's nostrils.

He later grabbed the dead person's breast and said "honk, honk." According to hospital officials, Kirkhart admitted to putting his fingers in the dead person's mouth but denied the other accusations.

He argued at a hearing to determine whether his benefits would be paid to him that touching a corpse as he admitted to is not unusual in training practices, the judge disagreed, saying he was not in training at the time and that a reasonable person would know that it is inappropriate to desecrate the body.