The City of Columbus has agreed to settle a wrongful death lawsuit for $1.2 million dollars after two fire division paramedics failed to properly treat a woman in cardiac arrest. Columbus paramedics James Amick and James Hingst were dispatched to an MRI center on Bethel Road for a report of a woman in cardiac arrest. The patient was getting an MRI on her hip when she vomited. She complained of breathing problems and chest pains and was blue in the face.
When the paramedics arrived, they did not treat the woman for nearly 25 minutes. At one point, one of the paramedics suggested that the patient’s son take her to the hospital in his personal vehicle.
The medics did not check her vital signs, connect her to an electrocardiogram machine or follow procedures for someone showing signs of cardiac arrest. At one point, the paramedics started discussing the pot roast being prepared at their fire station for dinner that night. After 26 minutes with the patient, the paramedics took her to the hospital. Inside the medic unit, the patient slumped over and became unconscious and subsequently died a few days later. According to court records, the medical professionals at the MRI center were stunned by the lack of urgency exhibited by the medics and wrote letters of complaint to the city.