Oregon FD and Medics Sued Over Accident

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Posted by: cvarone 2 days ago 0 Comments

A patient in the back of a fire department ambulance that collided with another vehicle during transport killing the other driver, has filed suit against the department, two firefighter-paramedics, and the deceased’s estate.

Robert Cramblit was a patient in a Eugene Springfield Fire Department ambulance on July 31, 2013, when it collided with an SUV driven by Patricia L. Morgan. Morgan was pronounced dead at the scene.

Crambit filed suit earlier this month against the SFFD and the two firefighter-paramedics claiming they are in part to blame for injuries, including causing him ““to fly … within the ambulance, colliding with objects.” He is also suing Morgan’s estate, and seeks a total of $305,000 from all parties.

The firefighters, Mark Underhill and Jason Lockett, suffered minor injuries in the crash. According to city spokeswoman Jan Bohman:

“Mr. Cramblit was secured in the ambulance at the time of the accident, and the system in place to secure stretchers in our ambulances meets current industry standards”
“The reality is that the impact was so great that it knocked the stretcher out of its containment system.”

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Curt Varone has over 41 years of fire service experience and 29 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.