Wrongful death suite filed against flight team.

[Photoflight]

Hopefully this gets thrown out quick.



A wrongful death lawsuit was recently filed against Collier County Medflight on behalf of a trauma patient that was not flown due to weight restrictions. Reportedly, the 394 pound patient exceeded their weight capacity and was transported by ground, expiring during the transport.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/mar/04/lawsuit_challenges_colliers_weight_rule_transporti/

 

[Nindiri]

The fat ass should have worn her seatbelt.

 

[AirMugsy]

The county should counter-sue for her not wearing a seatbelt and having the medflight even respond.. it is the law

 

[CaravanMan]

That's just wrong. I'm sorry for the family's loss, but come on. We have a 350lb limit on our King Airs, basically because we can barely get them through the door, and for the loading ramp. Most hospitals know our "policy" and will tell us the patient's "weight..." and then we get the patient only to find out that they're well over 350lbs and we're SOL. Whenever our 350lb limit has been exceeded, the airplane must be placed out-of-service to inspect our loading ramp for damage, which, obviously, prevents us from getting to our next patient. What a sad, sad, sue-happy world we live in.

 

[ksu_aviator]

Obviously these people don't understand that an aircraft of helicopter just can't fly if they are too heavy! Not to mention floor load limits!

This will get thrown out...no two ways about it.

 

[jetexas]

I hate the wrongful death 'suite'...

...Much worse than a room near the elevator or ice machine!!

 

[Oakum_Boy]

“I was shocked when I learned of the 300-pound limit. It doesn’t make sense,” she said. “I can’t find any state or national standard for that (rule).”

That makes sense to me. What's next, buying a Sikorsky s-60 Skycrane?

 

[CrewDawg]

"I was shocked when I learned about the 300-pound limit. It doesn't make sense," she said. "I can't find any state or national standard for that (rule)."

Pick up a FAR/AIM b#tch, I'm pretty sure there is something in there about flying overweight! Or the ever present careless and reckless!

 

[Oakum_Boy]

Pick up a FAR/AIM b#tch, I'm pretty sure there is something in there about flying overweight! Or the ever present careless and reckless!

They have no case. Now as for the lard ass woman....

 

[CrewDawg]

I'm not sure if you edited your post but I was agreeing with you Oakum. I was refering to the dumbass lawyer uke: also. We're on the same page Oakum :beer:.

 

[Nindiri]

I hate the wrongful death 'suite'...

...Much worse than a room near the elevator or ice machine!!

There went Coke all over the monitor.

 

[pilotyip]

You can sue for anything; juries always feel bad about someone dying and want to make it right. Going to court is expensive for the defendant and you might loose to a jury of your peers. So an out of court settlement of say 50K-100K might be the cheapest way out of this case. There is no penalty for stupid suing with your atty takes it on contingency. Unlike the rest of the civilized world where there is a cost for stupid suits. It has little to do with justice, and a lot to do with process
.

 

[Hopeless_in_GA]

This will never see a jury, as long as the crew acted within the scope of their SOP and in good faith.

 

[pilotyip]

I would hope so also, but as I said you can sue for any reason, it is the american way. Besides we have so many atty's we have to keep them employed.

 

[pilot error]

I would hope so also, but as I said you can sue for any reason, it is the american way. Besides we have so many atty's we have to keep them employed.

which is why there is a little thing called summery judgment.

 

[skyaddict]

Unlike the rest of the civilized world where there is a cost for stupid suits. It has little to do with justice, and a lot to do with process
.

Absolutely, in pretty much all the rest of the world this lawsuit would quite rightly either be immediately dismissed, or were it to proceed, the plaintiff would end up paying the defendants legal fees plus a penalty for arrogance... here they are rewarded.

 

[PUNISHER]

“I was shocked when I learned of the 300-pound limit. It doesn’t make sense,” she said. “I can’t find any state or national standard for that (rule).”

That makes sense to me. What's next, buying a Sikorsky s-60 Skycrane?

Actually there seems to be a growing demand for bariatric ambos. The company that I fly for turns down quite a few trips a month due to size/weight problems. I've flown a number of patients in 300 pound range and one 415 pounder, getting him through a 36 in door was difficult to say the least. I could'nt imagine loading someone of that size in a citation or kingair. Luckly we were able to enlist the help of the local CFR guys.
I think a Falcon 20 in the cargo config would best suit this niche. You could even get the really obese people and just think how easy it would be loading with a forklift.

 

[Skualo3]

Once we got a quote for a 500 pound guy, i suggested driving the ambulance into a C-130...

 

[TWA]

Any one know if this suite was thrown out yet?

 

[avbug]

This will never see a jury, as long as the crew acted within the scope of their SOP and in good faith.

That's just not true, especially in a civil case. You can follow all the rules, you can adhere to your standard operating procedures, and that doesn't mean a thing when you're called before a jury of non-pilots, non-medical personnel who form their opinons based on the convincing dialogue of a high-priced attorney.

Additionally, in civil court, there's no such thing as beyond a reasonable doubt; the burden of proof is a preponderance of the evidence...which doesn't mean that you need to be proven guilty. Just that a jury needs to be convinced. Ever have an opinion that at least twelve people might not like or with which at least twelve people might not agree? There's your jury.

The highest damages awarded in a general aviation trial, the one which lead to sweeping changes in tort reform in the industry, involved the estate of a man killed while flyin ghis super cub. His estate sued Piper and a number of others. He died flying from the rear seat when he should have been in the front. He couldn't fly from the front becuase it was fully of illegally installed, unairworthy camera equipment...equipment which he hit and which killed him, incidentally...equipment which he installed. He was departing a closed runway. He was illegally towing a glider, and was forbidden to operate from that airport or runway by the airport manager, who had not only closed the runway but X'd it off, and parked a van across it to prevent it's use.

The man's estate sued and one a hundred twelve million, because piper didn't have a shoulder harness in the cub.

When the cub was built, it didn't require one.

They won.

Don't think for a moment that simply because you followed the regulation and company SOP, that you're safe. Not remotely so.