Ambulance involved in MVA

[Harold1]

Yesterday we were enroute to the ED, code 3, with CPR in progress, when we collided with a car. No-one was injured. The patient didn't make it. We had a crash with an ambulance just last week, one early in 2008, and one in december last year.

I was wondering if there are more paramedics on this forum with the same experience.

What happened? What were the circumstances? How many times have you or your partners been involved in MVA's while working on the ambulance? How common are accidents with ambulances in your area? How has the accident affected you in your job?

[nypamedic43]

I have been doing this for 15 years and I have never been involved in an accident in an ambulance. I work for a service that does 20000+ calls a year and the last accident that occured was 2 yrs ago on an icy road...no patient in the back and it was very low impact. Barely dented the bumper.

It sounds to me like running code 3 is a bad idea for you guys. Accidents are very uncommon in this area. There have been accidents in the more eastern part of the state, more towards NYC.

With 4 accidents in less than a year... management should be very concerned about losing thier insurance and the underwriters. Doesnt matter if your running Code 3 or not, the cause of the accident is always blamed on the ambulance crew. And tell me...what were you running Code 3 on an arrest for anyway? Thats nuts!! We run code 3 to the call....and if it is an arrest...we travel expeditiously to the ED...no lights or sirens.

Sounds like every member of your service needs to take an emergency vehicle driving course and they need to do away with the whacker mentality.....just because you CAN run lights and sirens, doesnt always mean you SHOULD. Our safety should always come first.

[firedoc5]

Luckily I had never been involved in a MVA in an ambulance, especially with a patient on board. But I know it happens, have seen it happen. Sounds like your service has had more than it's share of accidents. If your service is having that many accidents that often, a class in driving should be taken, or at least an in-service. Something's not kosher. Address what ever issues were contributing factors. Ambulances and other emergency vehicles should not be in accidents as often relative to civilian traffic. Emergency drivers should be the safest, most courteous, cautious, and best drivers on the street. Contrary to popular belief they are not and should not be balls-to-wall, speeding, roaring through traffic type of drivers.

[batgirl]

I've never been involved in any sort of accident while on the ambulance. While there have been fender benders and even a major accident (a moron fell asleep at the wheel during an overnight shift), we are told that unless we are told to go code 3 to a call, we don't, and we use our better judgment when it comes to going to the hospital code 3. Not only that, but most people who are in my corps are the kind who even when going code 3, don't go crazy speeding and rushing through reds. I'm happy to say that most of the people I work with still err on the side of caution when running lights to a hospital or to a scene. It's better to take a few extra seconds or minutes to get everyone to the destination safe and in one piece.

Now if only we could keep the AEVs from breaking down in the middle of the road, it would all be great.

[Richard B the EMT]

I don't recall any other than one, while I was still in a non-9-1-1 service provider, we got sideswiped while enroute to the ER with CPR in progress. Very minor body damage to the type 2 and the other car.

My partner got out, and told the other driver where we were going, and why we had to leave the scene of the accident.

I don't recall if the patient was a "Quality of Life" save, but the patient was a "save" (circa 1975-1977).

[Don1977]

Me and my partner were responding to a respiratory distress call at one of our nursing homes in 2005, we were only 100 feet from the facility when a girl on a cell phone not paying attention, hit us dead on.

All we got was a few scratches, but could have been worse.

[firedoc5]

Me and my partner were responding to a respiratory distress call at one of our nursing homes in 2005, we were only 100 feet from the facility when a girl on a cell phone not paying attention, hit us dead on.

All we got was a few scratches, but could have been worse.

Chalk another one up for the cell phone factor. #-o

[MedicCraig]

Oh, the dreaded ambulance accident!! Ask any medic who has been the subject of a lawsuit and/or deposition, and I'll bet he slowed his roll. I was deposed one time several years ago over an accident that occured, while I was off duty! One of our drivers blew a red light with RLS on and broadsided a deaf, elderly gentleman who pulled out in front of them. The driver was DOA at the scene. I had to give a deposition because I am our services driving instructor. After 2 hours of "grilling" by the lawyers for the plaintiffs family, they made me feel like I was the one who killed the guy! The bottom line is.....SLOW DOWN!!.....ALWAYS STOP AT INTERSECTIONS!.....SLOW DOWN!....Take an approved emergency driving course.....SLOW DOWN!......Oh.did I mention SLOW DOWN! One more piece of advice I always give our new drivers, and also applies to all those new to this field......always remember, "The first pulse you check is your own"

[fireflymedic]

I've sadly been involved in multiple ambulance related accidents, but never as the driver, but multiple times in the back - one with patient the rest just my partner and I. One was due to extremely icy roads, something we couldn't help, came down a hill and didn't have any traction, we were going slow but was only way out of the ER parking lot. We hit the bottom and couldn't make the extremely tight turn and jumped a curb ending up in a yard. Another was enroute to ER and were ran off the road by a coal truck coming around a blind curve and was halfway across the line. It was go in a ditch or go head on with the truck. We chose the ditch. No injuries to either one. Another involved us being rear ended stopped at a red light - partner had a good scrape on his knee. Our ambulance was hit HARD in a parking lot bending the frame. We were legally parked and nowhere near it when a drunk driver slammed into it. Worst one though was four years ago, we were T boned by another ambulance. Was with a brand new EMT partner (had his license two days so was really brand new !) He blew an intersection enroute to a call, and another ambulance was enroute to another call. They didn't see us until it was too late (and they did stop, then proceed) and we slammed into them. Some major injuries from that one. People need to use more sense driving an ambulance, it's not an ambulance, many people turn it into an assault vehicle.

[Just Plain Ruff]

Oh, the dreaded ambulance accident!! Ask any medic who has been the subject of a lawsuit and/or deposition, and I'll bet he slowed his roll. I was deposed one time several years ago over an accident that occured, while I was off duty! One of our drivers blew a red light with RLS on and broadsided a deaf, elderly gentleman who pulled out in front of them. The driver was DOA at the scene. I had to give a deposition because I am our services driving instructor. After 2 hours of "grilling" by the lawyers for the plaintiffs family, they made me feel like I was the one who killed the guy! The bottom line is.....SLOW DOWN!!.....ALWAYS STOP AT INTERSECTIONS!.....SLOW DOWN!....Take an approved emergency driving course.....SLOW DOWN!......Oh.did I mention SLOW DOWN! One more piece of advice I always give our new drivers, and also applies to all those new to this field......always remember, "The first pulse you check is your own"

Great advice MedicCraig but unfortunately no matter how much you prepare and teach the drivers out there, the oddball driver like the elderly dead guy is gonna rear it's ugly head. I doubt that no matter how many lights and how loud the siren that there was no way that that accident was going to be prevented.

Remember "you can't fix stupid"