The estate of a 60-year old woman confined to a wheelchair agreed to a $1.5 million settlement after being dropped by an EMT. After calling an ambulance due to gastrointestinal discomfort, and EMT attempted to carry her from her wheelchair to her gurney. Instead of getting his co-EMT for help, he had the 200 pound woman hold his neck while he picked her up. The woman voiced her concern about being weak and unable to hold on to his neck. The EMT ended up dropping the woman, causing a femoral fracture. As a result, she suffered a fat embolus, respiratory failure requiring a tracheotomy, and cognitive deficits. The woman eventually died three years later in a nursing home. Plaintiff's counsel contended her death was a result of complications from the fat emboli.
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