Wrongful Death Suit Filed Over Misrouted 911 Call in California

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Posted by: Curt Varone 1 hour ago 0

A 911 call that was somehow misrouted to Canada resulting in a delayed response to a child who collapsed, is now the focus of a wrongful death suit brought by the child’s parents.

Jose Beltran, 13, collapsed during a gym class on January 26, 2015. Officials at his middle school in Delano, California called 911 but that call was somehow misrouted resulting in a delayed response. Beltran, who had a previously undiagnosed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, died.

The boy’s parents, Livia Salas and Jose Beltran, claim they have been stonewalled by the school department, Kern County and the state of California in understanding how the mixup occurred. At a press conference last week to announce the filing of the suit, Salas was quoted as saying: “I really need those answers.”

The suit names the Delano Union School District, five school district employees, the City of Delano, Kern County, and the State of California. The Kern County Fire Department responded to the incident.

Salas’ attorney, Matt Clark, claims the reason they included the city, the county and the state in the suit “is because we don’t know which agency is responsible for routing the call to Canada … and that obviously resulted in a delay of treatment.”

The suit was filed in Kern County Superior Court last Thursday. At the moment I have not been able to access the complaint, but will post it if possible.

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ABOUT CURT VARONE

Curt Varone has over 40 years of fire service experience and 30 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.