Court: Park Ridge can be sued in EMT case

SPRINGFIELD - Park Ridge can be sued over allegations that emergency medical technicians deliberately failed to provide a drug overdose victim adequate care, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

In a unanimous ruling, the court said that cities, villages, other governments and their medical personnel are not automatically protected from such lawsuits.

"It means for emergency medical providers - there is not blanket immunity," said David Barry, a partner with Corboy and Demetrio, which represented the dead teen's mother. He said there is no dollar amount attached to the lawsuit, which had barely advanced past the initial filing before being dismissed. "Obviously we're pleased with the result," Barry said.

Jay Judge, of Judge, James and Kujawa, represented Park Ridge in the case. He said one option being considered is asking the court to hear the case again. Meanwhile, he cautioned that all the facts are not yet known. "When all the facts come out, we will win," he said.

The 19-page decision can be found here: http://www.state.il.us/court/Opinions/SupremeCourt/2008/October/104935.pdf.

According to court documents, the case stems from a 2004 incident in which emergency personnel responded to a 911 call placed shortly after 1 a.m. Oct. 31 in Park Ridge regarding a "nonresponsive child who required CPR." The city dispatched an emergency crew.

In the lawsuit, the mother alleges the emergency personnel did not evaluate, assess, provide life support or transport the 15-year-old to a hospital despite his condition. The case claims the responders knew or should have known that the teen had a history of drug abuse.

A second 911 call was placed at 9 a.m. and the boy was in cardiac arrest upon emergency responders' arrival. This time, resuscitation efforts began and the teen was taken to a hospital where he died.

A physician's report cited in the lawsuit concluded that the failures of the emergency responders were a proximate cause of the death, which was diagnosed as lack of oxygen to the brain resulting from cocaine and opiate intoxication.

Park Ridge attorneys sought to dismiss the case, pointing to a long-standing state law that generally provides liability protection to government entities and employees.

A Cook County court agreed that Park Ridge was immune and dismissed the lawsuit filed by the teen's mother. A state appeals court upheld that ruling.

But the Illinois Supreme Court pointed to a newer law that specifically addresses emergency medical personnel. That law offers immunity from lawsuits for emergency responders, but not if their alleged misconduct was "willful and wanton" - which is the allegation in this case.

Park Ridge had argued that the medical responder law only applies after medical services are offered. And since no services were offered in the initial 911 response, the broader law offering immunity to government employees should be used, attorneys said, instead of the more specific medical responder one.

The court disagreed, saying the law regarding medical personnel is the proper one for this case. The justices noted the situation is "unusual." "Ordinarily, it is accepted that emergency responders will provide necessary aid upon arriving at an emergency," Justice Thomas Kilbride said in writing the court's opinion.

The case was sent back to Cook County for further proceedings.