Football death lawsuit

[ERDoc]

http://wivb.com/2014/11/03/football-death-lawsuit-could-have-big-implications/

Obviously we are only presented with bits and pieces, but WTF? Why are the responders, hospital and ER physician being sued?

[paramedicmike]

Throw a wide net and see what you catch?

[ERDoc]

Yeah, probably. It's NY so I wouldn't expect anything less. Seriously though, one of the complaints against the EMS crew was that they were refusing to drive the ambulance on the grass. Why would you need to do that? Keep the several ton hunk of metal on firm ground and use this little thing called the stretcher to move the pt to the ambulance. If they had driven the ambulance on the grass and it got stuck in the mud, the parents would be suing for that too. As for the hospital, a 3.5 hour turn around time, which I am assuming is arrival to departure, is not bad at all.

[triemal04]

Well...I think it's probably one of these options.

a) the parent's are still grieving and/or pissed off and looking for someone to blame.

b ) they got connected with a terrible POS lawyer

c) they got contacted and "counseled" by a POS with their own private agenda

d) they have legitimate concerns

Sadly, I think, based on this single article (which doesn't have all the facts but is all there is to go on right now) that option a and d are having the least impact on this decision.

More on that later.

Edited November 8, 2014 by triemal04

[ERDoc]

Here is a copy of the actual claim

http://download.gannett.edgesuite.net/wgrz/news/complaint_janes_chautauqua.pdf

I'm also curious why the actual cause of death hasn't been released.

[paramedicmike]

Well, that somewhat explains the wide net they're throwing. Unfortunately, it doesn't shed any light on what actually happened. I agree that it's curious the cause of death wasn't released.

[ERDoc]

It makes me wonder if there was something on the tox screen the family doesn't want people to know about.

[ERDoc]

Looking at the NYS trauma protocol, it looks like the ambulance was right in taking the pt to the local hospital. The protocol says to transport to the trauma center if the pt can get there in less than 1 hour after the injury. According to Google maps it is 81 miles from the high school to the nearest trauma center in Buffalo, over some hilly/mountainous roads. Even by air, it would probably take over an hour, so closest hospital seems appropriate based on protocol.

[triemal04]

To continue...

...the suit blames Westfield and Brocton for things many small districts across the country do — fielding a team with a small roster, putting players on both offense and defense, and for taking the field against a team with much larger players.

They also claim the New York Public High School Athletic Association should classify teams based on the size of their players, rather than enrollment, to ensure safe games. News 4 could not find a single high school athletic association in America that classifies teams based on their players’ physical size.

Somebody is stretching and looking for someone to blame. And very likely has their own personal agenda against youth football teams.

...The suit claims the Portville Fire Department refused to bring an ambulance onto the field, “putting concerns about property damage ahead of the lives and safety of student athletes.”

A Portville Firefighter told News 4 at first they feared the ambulance would get stuck on the field, because the ground was soaked after a week of rain. But he says they did in fact drive onto the field and followed all appropriate procedures.

So we now have a nice "he said, she said" moment. Should be easy enough to figure out what actually happened...you know...since there were plenty of witnesses available. Not to mention the fact that the concern for getting the ambulance stuck, as already noted, is a more than valid reason to not drive onto a grass field. Combine that with the fact that it wouldn't have made a bit of difference in the outcome...someone is again stretching and looking for someone to blame. And very likely wants to fill their pockets at the same time.

I'm not going to touch on the actual complaint, other than the mention yet again that this is why lawyers are seen, often rightfully so, as scum of the earth. While there may be valid complaints against the school district and/or coaching staff, the complaints levied against both the fire departments involved, and the ambulance company are, without far more facts than have been presented, nothing more than baseless shit. I refuse to be polite about it; it's shit.

It is tragic that a teenager died, and there may be negligence on the parts of the school districts/coaches...but the fact that such a wide net was thrown for such bullshit reasons makes it look more like someone has an ax to grind and wants money and less like the family really wants resolution.

To bad that cases like this bring leeches crawling out of the woodwork.

Edited November 10, 2014 by triemal04