City Settles Wrongful Death Lawsuit over NY EMT Incident

PLATTSBURGH, NY—The city recently paid a $100,000 deductible to settle a wrongful death lawsuit connected to its Plattsburgh City Fire Department.

Mayor Colin Read said the incident dated back to November 2019 when the city's emergency medical technicians were dispatched to a local nursing home to transport an ill patient to the hospital.

"They secured the patient with the stretcher harness straps, but the patient’s arms became slack," the mayor said. "While loading the patient into the ambulance, the stretcher tipped and the patient spilled out of the stretcher and struck (their) head.

"When the patient was transferred to a hospital, (they) were pronounced dead."

Read said his office caught wind of the happening after the patient's representatives pursued a claim against the City of Plattsburgh.

"(The Mayor's Office) asked for an investigation, which culminated in a settlement with the patient's family," he told the Press-Republican.

"In addition, the state and city investigations are ongoing and may result in the imposition of additional sanctions against the city personnel involved in this tragic outcome."

It was July 30 that the City Common Council authorized City Chamberlain Richard Marks to transfer $100,000 from the General Fund Contingency to the Fire Department Fees for Services fund.

Marks said the payment was the actual $300,000 claim's deductible, $200,000 of which was covered by insurance.

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