KY Medics Face Sanctions for Using Antivenom to Save Man

Paramedics, who saved the life of a zoo director after he was bitten by a highly venomous snake, were lauded as heroes.

But, state EMS officials aren't among those praising the paramedics' decision to administer the antivenom credited with saving James Harrison, director of the Kentucky Reptile Zoo. 

“The victim had told us that we needed to administer the antivenom as soon as possible, and if not, the first stages are paralysis, second stage was respiratory arrest, third stage was cardiac arrest, then he said, ‘I’m going to die,’” Powell County Judge-Executive Eddie Barnes told WKYT.

The zoo had the life-saving drug that he needed. Barnes said he and his EMT partner were unable to reach their EMS director, but they did speak with medical staff at Clark Regional Medical Center.

They administered the antivenom while waiting for a helicopter to transport Harrison to the University of Kentucky hospital. He remained in the intensive care unit for several days. 

Kristen Wiley, Harrison's wife, is thankful for the medics.

“Every physician that we’ve talked to about it, and about the course of the bite, agrees that they were heroes and did what needed to be done to save him. That’s who I want working on me in an emergency,” Wiley said.

Barnes said he later learned the state EMS policy changed two years ago, and that only wilderness paramedics can administer antivenom now.

“If we had sat there and let him die, then we would have been morally and ethically responsible, and we could have been criminally charged for his death,” Barnes said.

Next week, he will be fighting to keep his paramedic license at a hearing before the Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services.

“If it came down today, I would do the same thing. You cannot put a price on a person’s life."