Patient sues FDNY EMS for causing injury

The lawsuit says EMS providers lifted her into the ambulance, which resulted in a gash to her leg that required 21 stitches

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A woman who called 911 for breathing problems sued the FDNY, saying paramedics caused a gash to her leg that required stitches.

Jacqueline Vanderhorst, 58, filed a lawsuit that says EMTs tried to boost her into an ambulance instead of carrying her in on a stretcher, and in the process caused a cut to her leg, New York Post reports.

“My leg got caught in the middle and I ended up with 21 stitches,” she said. “When I laid down in the ambulance, the sheets were full of blood.”

The lawsuit states EMTs told her they weren’t able to lower the steps to carry her into the ambulance because they were “unserviceable.”

“When people call for help to go to the hospital, they shouldn’t get there with another injury as a result of the transport,” Vanderhorst’s lawyer Roman Avshalumov said.

The city is reviewing the lawsuit.