Family of Minn. woman killed by firemen gets $175k

[Dustdevil]

http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_14834430?nclick_check=1

April 08, 2010

St. Paul / Death claim settled for $175K

City to pay family of woman hit by ambulance

By Emily Gurnon

egurnon@pioneerpress.com

The St. Paul City Council is set to approve today a $175,000 settlement with the family of a woman killed when an ambulance ran over her.

The victim, Margaret Kuehn, 79, was standing in the alley behind her home in the 1600 block of James Avenue on June 20 when an ambulance responded to a car accident. An elderly driver had crashed through a privacy fence in the Walgreens parking lot, crossed over a retaining wall and landed in the adjacent alley.

The ambulance backed up and hit Kuehn, who possibly had gone into the alley to see what was going on. The ambulance driver, Thomas Murakami, was not charged with a crime.

But an attorney for Kuehn's family, Patrick O'Neill, said in a written claim to the city on July 23 that Murakami "willfully disregarded St. Paul Fire Department written standard operating procedure by driving in reverse without hand guidance by one of his crew members or a police officer."

"The duty further required Mr. Murakami to maintain a proper lookout, anticipate the presence of others, and take all necessary precautions to avoid an accident," O'Neill wrote.

Neither O'Neill nor Kuehn's daughter, Lisa Cline, returned messages seeking comment late Tuesday.

State law limited the city's financial responsibility in the death to $400,000.

City council president Kathy Lantry said the family and the city arrived at the $175,000 figure by considering several factors, including what a jury might decide and the costs of a trial.

"I think the desire of the family was to have some closure here, and certainly for the city also," Lantry said.

Setting an amount is difficult, she said.

"What's the value of a person's life? It makes my stomach ache. There's no good that comes from any of this."

Kuehn was a longtime resident of the Macalester-Groveland/Highland Park area. She was remembered at her funeral at Holy Spirit Catholic Church as a doting grandmother and a familiar face in the neighborhood, where she regularly walked her dog, Ashley.

Several St. Paul firefighters attended the service.

Emily Gurnon can be reached at 651-228-5522.

[spenac]

Only reason they lost was the driver failed to follow policy. The city should make the driver pay it rather than the tax payers. This could happen at any service. CYA by following policies and knowing the policies so you can follow them.

Edited April 11, 2010 by spenac

[joesph]

complacency is a bitch

[Lone Star]

Ok, I'll grant that the driver violated company policy by backing up without a spotter.

But.....

You'd think that in 79 years that woman would have realized that when vehicles are backing up, you get the hell out of the way!

OSHA requires commerical vehicles to have backup alarms on them. If you hear that telltale 'beep beep beep', that means GET OUT OF THE WAY, SOMETHING IS GONNA MOVE!

If she hasn't figured that out, (along with always pass in front of a vehicle with limited rear view), it makes you really stop and wonder how she got to 79!

While the driver was negligent in following company policy, the woman was also negligent in using common sense!

I highly doubt that the ambulance was backing up at a high rate of speed, so I'd be willing to bet that even at 79 years old, she had not only warning that the truck was backing up, but also some warning that the vehicle was about to move.......

[DwayneEMTP]

Ok, I'll grant that the driver violated company policy by backing up without a spotter.

But.....

You'd think that in 79 years that woman would have realized that when vehicles are backing up, you get the hell out of the way!

OSHA requires commerical vehicles to have backup alarms on them. If you hear that telltale 'beep beep beep', that means GET OUT OF THE WAY, SOMETHING IS GONNA MOVE!

If she hasn't figured that out, (along with always pass in front of a vehicle with limited rear view), it makes you really stop and wonder how she got to 79!

While the driver was negligent in following company policy, the woman was also negligent in using common sense!

I highly doubt that the ambulance was backing up at a high rate of speed, so I'd be willing to bet that even at 79 years old, she had not only warning that the truck was backing up, but also some warning that the vehicle was about to move.......

I guess I don't see your point. Are you suggesting that she died on purpose? And if so, then it's a tragedy that she didn't get the help she needed. And if not, then perhaps your myopic view of the situation is missing some facts. She could have been mentally altered, physically challenged, near deaf. Each of these things means that she deserves to be dead? What if someone had seen all of the commotion and fainted? They are then too stupid to live? I would be very worried for my job if I backed over an bicycle on scene, much less a human being.

As much as you like to make out that anyone that does something that you believe is 'beneath' the level of what should be considered worthy human behavior should be beaten or killed, you're still full of shit man, as the logic in your quoted post shows.

Dwayne

[Chief1C]

Ok, I'll grant that the driver violated company policy by backing up without a spotter.

But.....

You'd think that in 79 years that woman would have realized that when vehicles are backing up, you get the hell out of the way!

OSHA requires commerical vehicles to have backup alarms on them. If you hear that telltale 'beep beep beep', that means GET OUT OF THE WAY, SOMETHING IS GONNA MOVE!

If she hasn't figured that out, (along with always pass in front of a vehicle with limited rear view), it makes you really stop and wonder how she got to 79!

While the driver was negligent in following company policy, the woman was also negligent in using common sense!

I highly doubt that the ambulance was backing up at a high rate of speed, so I'd be willing to bet that even at 79 years old, she had not only warning that the truck was backing up, but also some warning that the vehicle was about to move.......

It didn't mention anything about the woman, really. She could have been hearing impaired. If you rely on that alarm, solely, as a measure of safety - without a spotter - even if you've done it a thousand times. That's where the term complacency comes in.. and Complacency does kill people, usually us, but those who are unaware of what task we are executing get caught in the mix too. I don't see where the woman could be at fault. Unless she jumped out from behind a bush, and put her head under a tire, with a suicide note in her pocket, it's all on the crew.

I had the window open before Dwayne replied, so excuse any similar comments. I was busy downing copious amounts of Gatorade.

[Dustdevil]

I wish I had a dollar for ever driver I've worked with who automatically switched the back-up alarm off everytime s/he shifted into reverse as a matter of habit. Not to mention all those who jam a piece of folded paper or a toothpick into the switch to keep it turned off permanently. Personally, I'd fire any driver I caught doing that even one time.

[Lone Star]

Ok, let's stop right here and I'll try to make a couple things very clear....

At no time did I imply, intimate or otherwise state/infer that she DESERVED to die; nor did I even hint at the idea that this may have been a 'suicide by ambulance' event.

All too often in this forum, people are ready to castigate without getting all the facts. I merely pointed out that MAYBE she was a contributing factor in this tragedy.

At no point did I condone the driver being held faultless, nor did I advocate the notion that this was an intentional act on her part. In fact, I DID acknowledge the driver's failure to follow policy while backing the vehicle up.

Maybe I wasn't as clear with the intent of my post as I could have been. But to automatically brand the driver as the 'no good son of a bitch that intentionally ran granny over', is just as wrong.

We could 'what if' this till the cows come home, it changes nothing.