Nebraska Mother Sues EMT, County over Death

[Dustdevil]

Can't say I am surprised to hear this guy teaches firemonkeys. The blind leading the blind.

http://www.emsresponder.com/article/articl...n=1&id=8416

Posted: Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Updated: October 22nd, 2008 10:43 AM GMT-05:00

John Ferak, WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Omaha World-Herald

MURRAY, Neb. -- Heather Mattern battled cystic fibrosis and diabetes most of her life, but her family never expected the 21-year-old woman to die after an emergency call to her house.

"Everything that morning started out easygoing," said her mother, Cynthia Morris. "I never would have imagined this would happen."

Morris recently filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging that emergency medical technician William Cover misused a suction device during the 911 call to Mattern's house, and that his actions resulted in the woman's death on Oct. 2, 2006.

The lawsuit names Cover and Cass County as defendants. Cover is Cass County's longtime emergency management agency director.

The lawsuit states that emergency room doctors at Midlands Hospital in Papillion discovered a 3- to 4-centimeter red cap lodged in Mattern's throat, blocking her airway, at the time of her death.

Cover is accused of failing to remove the red plastic cap from the V-Vac suction device, according to the lawsuit filed by Omaha attorney Christopher Welsh. The color helps remind rescue workers to take it off before use, he said.

The plaintiffs have asked a Cass County District Court jury to award unspecified monetary damages, including medical, funeral and burial expenses, to Mattern's family.

Mattern's family also has a lawsuit against the product manufacturer pending in U.S. District Court, Welsh said.

Lincoln lawyer Vince Valentino, who is defending Cass County and Cover, plans to argue that Mattern "was beyond being saved" at the time her mother made the 911 call.

"It obviously is a tragedy," Valentino said. "You don't expect to see people die at that young of an age. I think the evidence in this case will show this young lady apparently had a number of physical health problems prior to the call, and it's likely she was deceased before the emergency responders got to the scene of this call."

Valentino does not dispute the suction device malfunctioned in her mouth. However, that's a product liability matter, he said.

He said he plans to ask the judge to dismiss the lawsuit because Nebraska law makes first responders and emergency personnel immune from civil liability unless they engage in gross negligence or willful and wanton conduct.

As a certified emergency medical technician, Cover often provided Murray Fire and Rescue units with mutual aid assistance, Valentino said. Cover also conducts most of the field training exercises for the rural volunteer fire and rescue departments, said Cass County Board Chairman Ron Nolte of Murray.

"Bill Cover was not negligent in anything he did that day," Valentino said. "They are just looking for a deep pocket to recover some compensation."

Morris said that about two weeks before her daughter's death, Mattern was released from a hospital after a bout of pneumonia. On the morning of her death, she began coughing uncontrollably. She passed out. Her mother called 911 about 8:40 a.m.

According to the lawsuit: a Murray Fire and Rescue ambulance arrived at their house at about 9 a.m. Inside, rescue crews took over resuscitation efforts from Morris, who was performing CPR on her unconscious daughter.

While a Murray emergency medical technician began compressions, Cover connected and hooked up an automated external defibrillator, a portable electronic device that allows the heart to re-establish an effective rhythm.

Once the defibrillator began working, crews used a bag valve mask to start breathing ventilation. After five minutes, Cover ceased ventilation and called for suction, the lawsuit stated.

One of Murray's emergency medical technicians gave Cover a V-Vac suction device. Cover attempted to suction Mattern's mouth. At some point, emergency responders placed Mattern on a headboard and transported her by ambulance to Midlands Hospital.

There, an emergency room doctor found that Mattern had no blood pressure, no pulse and no respiratory rate. A doctor discovered the red plastic cap lodged in her throat, blocking her airway and causing her death, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit states that Cover should have known that failing to remove the red cap on the suction device could result in the cap blocking Mattern's airway.

Morris said the lawsuit became their only recourse to hold someone accountable for Mattern's untimely death. She hopes the lawsuit results in better training for rural rescue crews. She wants to see a shift from all-volunteer emergency responders to paid medical professionals responding to 911 calls.

Contact the writer

444-1056, john.ferak@owh.com

[spenac]

"He said he plans to ask the judge to dismiss the lawsuit because Nebraska law makes first responders and emergency personnel immune from civil liability unless they engage in gross negligence or willful and wanton conduct. "

I would say that is gross negligence if he stuck the hand vac into her mouth with the cap still in place. In my old volly bag I have one of those devices and that cap is obvious. So if he failed to remove it his actions may have expedited her death. Since she was already being worked when he arrived she probably would not have made it, but w/o an airway no way she could.

Now in his defense perhaps the family had a suction device and they may have left the cap on. I have dealt with patients with similar long term ailments and the family had suction devices. So if his defense attorney is smart he'll go that possibility rather than making like she was dead already. If I was on the jury and you said she was dead already I would then think you were scum for abusing a corpse.

[VentMedic]

Now in his defense perhaps the family had a suction device and they may have left the cap on. I have dealt with patients with similar long term ailments and the family had suction devices. So if his defense attorney is smart he'll go that possibility rather than making like she was dead already. If I was on the jury and you said she was dead already I would then think you were scum for abusing a corpse.

Homecare companies would not likely give a hand powered suction device or at least none that I know of would except as a possible backup for power outages.

After a rather lengthy discussion about "the basics of suctioning" on another forum, I would like to know what "skills" EMT and Paramedic schools teaching. Are they forgetting the fundamentals and skipping right into the really good stuff like IVs and intubations even for EMT?

I could bore all of you to tears with tales of CPAP placed on a mouthful of scrambled eggs or oatmeal and trach patients whose trach was pulled because of secretions which could have been easily removed by suctioning or just removing the inner cannula. Of course now the rescuers have to figure out how to re-establish the airway and end up false tracking or ripping the trachea. When asked why wasn't suction attempted first, "It was an emergency" is the usual reply. And then I have to put up with the same Einsteins transporting a trach patient from our facility. They don't move until I know they are capable of suctioning correctly.

[AnthonyM83]

I honestly didn't get any training on the V-Vac suction. Had I had a call on my first day out of training where I needed to suction, in panicked mode, I might have done the same not even realizing there was a cap.

Since then, I've learned new work values (from places like EMTCity) like knowing your equipment and thus have spent time playing around with it (though still don't know manufacturer's directions, because we're not given them) and asking around (people who only give me their best guess...from what they've seen others do).

So shame on medic for not knowing his equipment, but also shame on agency for not ensuring their personnel knew their equipment, and shame on the EMT school for not instilling the value and importance of knowing your equipment...

[CBEMT]

He said he plans to ask the judge to dismiss the lawsuit because Nebraska law makes first responders and emergency personnel immune from civil liability unless they engage in gross negligence or willful and wanton conduct.

We have a similar law, and I have no doubt whatsoever that it's kept murderers on the streets. Three guesses who asked for that legislation.

[mark]

Whether or not the EMT was negligent in his role, the fact remains that this woman's chances of survival were slim to none before 911 was even called. From the sounds of the article, she was pulseless and apneic on EMS arrival, and due to her age and Hx of cystic fibrosis, she wasn't long for this world anyway. I know making judgements about medical treatment off an article like this is flimsy at best, but I don't believe the suction cap would've made the difference between life and death.

However, regardless of the situation and the pt, it is still the duty of whoever is operating a piece of equipment to make sure it is ready for pt use, and that EMT should have checked the tip before suctioning. I don't think this part actually needed to be said, but we all know that if I left it out, someone would come down on me for it and told me I have no place in this profession.

[emtlady76877]

I think if the paramedic forgot to take the cap off it is a perfect example of a paramedic that forgot the basics. Yes, VentMedic where I was taught my EMT-B we were taught to suction properly. I personally do not see how anybody could miss a red cap. Our suction tip are just in a sterile wrap and not have a red cap. Could it have come from somebody else's other than the ems suction tip?

[spenac]

I think if the paramedic forgot to take the cap off it is a perfect example of a paramedic that forgot the basics. Yes, VentMedic where I was taught my EMT-B we were taught to suction properly. I personally do not see how anybody could miss a red cap. Our suction tip are just in a sterile wrap and not have a red cap. Could it have come from somebody else's other than the ems suction tip?

Actually this was a case of the basic forgetting the basics if the article is correct. I never saw anywhere that says he was a paramedic, if I missed it sorry.

If you have the suction device talked about in the article you would have a large plastic red cap that must be removed.

[akflightmedic]

Definitely sounds like a basic crew since they used an AED, they bagged only and compressed only.

[alsshart]

A few things that the article does not mention; the EMT in question is ALSO an EMT INSTRUCTOR and an AHA BLS Regional Faculty. This item (V-Vac) is commonly used in EMS, and as an EMT at the least, and an EMT Instructor overall he should have know to REMOVE THE RED CAP before suctioning. THEN, he did not recognize that he had an airway obstruction when he tried to ventilate the patient? Also, the article mentioned "Once the defibrillator began working, crews used a bag valve mask to start breathing ventilation. After five minutes, Cover ceased ventilation and called for suction". That at least IMPLIES that the patient had a shockable rhythm to start with if the defibrillator was "working" and was potentially salvagable. You expect better from someone who is supposedly as highly trained as this individual. He either needs to surrender his license or have it removed.