Bias lawsuit against Carpentersville tossed in case of injured infant

A federal judge has dismissed a $30 million lawsuit against the village of Carpentersville and two of its paramedics that claimed a four-month-old boy was left brain damaged after he was refused transportation to a hospital because he is Hispanic.

U.S. District Court Judge James B. Zagel in Chicago threw out the lawsuit alleging paramedics Diane Graham and Martin Gruber acted with gross negligence and violated 4-month-old Osbiel Lopez's civil rights by failing to take him to a hospital after a 911 call in September 2006.

In his written ruling, Zagel said the plaintiff's Constitutional rights were not deprived as "the Constitution itself does not require a state to supply effective rescue services" and that the village "had not adopted a policy of discrimination."

The suit, filed in September 2007 by the boy's mother, Gloria Lopez, said, "Carpentersville had a practice or policy of limiting emergency services to people of Hispanic ancestry."

Lopez also claimed there was some evidence "the paramedics impermissably considered a patient's race and immigration status when rendering treatment."

An amended complaint also named Sherman Hospital in Elgin and Jenny Lentz, an emergency room nurse who communicated with paramedics during the incident.

At the time, Carpentersville was embroiled in an illegal immigration debate surrounding the village's proposed Illegal Alien Immigration Relief Act, a strict crackdown on employers and landlords that hire or rent to illegal immigrants. The village board indefinitely tabled the item.

According to the lawsuit, Osbiel Lopez's baby sitter, Esther Carrera, called 911 at 10:21 a.m. Sept. 18, 2006, when the infant began to have trouble breathing and showed seizure movements.

Graham and Gruber arrived at the home on Berkley Street about seven minutes later, the lawsuit says.

While the paramedics were at the home, they saw Osbiel Lopez vomiting and in distress, the lawsuit says. About 26 minutes later, at 10:54 a.m., Graham and Gruber left the home, leaving the baby behind, the 12-page lawsuit states.

Almost three hours later, at 1:39 p.m., the lawsuit says, Carrera again called 911 when Osbiel Lopez's condition worsened. Carpentersville paramedics arrived at the home about three minutes later and took the infant to Sherman.

Zagel declined to rule on the three of the suit's nine counts, indicating the issues they raised belong in a state court.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs and defendants were not available for comment Thursday.