Time to play Monday Morning Quarterback

[ERDoc]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/29/nyregion/jury-awards-172-million-in-verdict-against-city.html

I have a hard time finding fault with the crew without more info. This is NYC and if you are up in an apt building, it can take a while to get out. Even if the hospital is right around to corner, just the trip down to the ambulance could take a while. Based on the limited info, I can't fault the crew. They started CPR and maintained coronary perfusion pressure (in theory) while waiting for a properly equipped unit. It might have taken less time for the ALS unit to respond than it would have to load the pt and head to the hospital. I think it was a judgement call and a damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't situation. Dead and brain injured kids are guaranteed losses in court, regardless of how perfect the crew performed.

[paramedicmike]

Agreed. Based on the information available in the article I can't find fault with what they did, either. Moving the patient would've led to poorly performed CPR.

I also agree with the idea that negative outcomes in children are a lose-lose situation.

[island emt]

I've read several different versions of this story.

All point to the "winning moment" for the teens lawyer as the fact they didn't have oxygen or a defib with them when they made pt contact.

This was the first story that mentioned the cause as a "private" nurse giving the child a steroid injection causing anaphylaxis .

I'd need more info , such as what the crew was dispatched for, ie difficulty breathing or anaphylaxis before deciding if the crew may or may not have followed protocols.

[ERDoc]

Yeah, because we all know what a miracle drug oxygen is. If they had just brought it with them, this girl would have lived and increased her IQ by 20-25 points. I don't know if there in necessarily a protocol that says what you have to bring in to the residence. I would just base it on common sense. If they knew they were heading into a cardiac arrest and didn't bring the AED, shame on them. It may not have made a difference. What if the kid was in asystole, the AED would have been useless. I would be curious to find out more info. This is where anyone in the medical field that finds themselves on the defense side is screwed. You are being judged by a bunch of people who have no idea how the real world, either in the field or in the hospital, works. What seems wrong to a layperson (staying on scene and performing CPR) is actually the right thing to do. The problem is that these people have a medical knowledge limited to what they see on TV. A truly impartial jury should be comprised of 6 providers and 6 laypeople.

[island emt]

The one & only time I ended up in court over the outcome of a case was where the Patient died several days after while in the ICU of a major medical center well known around the world for it's expertise in trauma care..

The investigation was done over the families claims of improper care provided to a trauma PT. While we were investigated and deposed the DA's office found no wrongdoing on anyones part and refused to go forward as did the grand jury.

The family filed a civil suit naming the event promoter , the sanctioning body, the track, The EMS crew on scene and the Emergency room that provided initial care before transferring care to a speciality hospital with a neurosurgeon in house.

Typical shotgun approach to a civil lawsuit by a large well know personal injury shark firm, that advertises on TV a lot. Think Dewey , cheat em & how with a baseball bat.

In the end because we had followed protocols and done everything by the book, the jury threw out the EMS and the ER staff from the suit.

The shark had a copy of our protocol book in one hand as he was questioning us on the stand, and our state run report in the other, looking for discrepancies to nail us on.

He found neither that he could use to his advantage.

The promoter and track ended up settling out of court from what I heard later for a small amount that probably didn't pay the sharks fees.