Copyright 2006 The Commercial Appeal, Inc.
Patient died after injured while being transported
By JODY CALLAHAN
The Commercial Appeal
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — As the ambulance headed down Rockcreek Parkway around dawn on Jan. 15, driver Robert Neal thought he heard paramedic Stephen Fort call his name.
Neal looked over his right shoulder, back into the bay where Fort was tending to patient Catherine Linxwiler, 63.
When Neal turned back, the westbound Memphis Fire Department ambulance was veering left and heading straight for a tree just east of Germantown Parkway.
The crash sent all three in the ambulance to the hospital.
Frank Linxwiler, who was following in his own car, blames that collision for the death of his wife one week later.
Linxwiler and his three sons have filed a $33 million wrongful-death lawsuit in Circuit Court against the city, Neal and Fort.
The city is preparing its response to the suit. A motion to dismiss by the city has not been heard yet.
Linxwiler and his sons declined to comment, as did their attorney, Jim Strickland.
However, the senior assistant city attorney handling the defense said state law prohibits Neal and Fort from being sued for actions in the line of duty. He said the same law also limits damages from such an accident to $250,000.
“They’ve actually asked for more in damages than they would be entitled to under state law,” said Michael Fletcher, who speculated that the plaintiffs may plan to pursue the ambulance manufacturers. The ambulance has been preserved and sealed by the city.
According to the suit, Linxwiler saw the accident, then entered the back of the ambulance where “he observed with shock and horror the injuries to his wife.”
Mrs. Linxwiler, a former investigative assistant with the U.S. Secret Service, apparently suffered trauma to her head and abdomen.
It’s uncertain why she was being taken to the hospital that morning, but it was considered noncritical. The ambulance was going about 30 mph in nonemergency mode.
Fletcher said Linxwiler was strapped to the gurney, which was also locked into place inside the ambulance.
However, he acknowledged the accident could have caused her death.
“It may have. That’s why we’ve got to complete our discovery to get the medical evidence,” he said.
The police report cites Neal for being “inattentive” and “careless or erratic driving.” Neal’s personnel file contained no previous serious disciplinary actions.
Both Neal, who was cited for striking a fixed object, and Fort have recovered from their injuries and have returned to active duty, Fletcher said.