A widow can’t sue Fayette County for the death of her husband, the Georgia Supreme Court says.
So the widow is instead suing the Fayette EMS medic personally.
A wrongful death lawsuit filed in Spalding County State Court in September by Fayette county resident Charlene Denney in relation to the April 2009 death of her husband, 57-year-old Dickie Denney, has now released Fayette County based on a recent ruling by the Georgia Supreme Court on an aspect of sovereign immunity.
Denney said she will continue to pursue litigation with Spalding County resident and paramedic Jason Crenshaw and potentially others that are alleged to have made a number of professional errors related to her husband’s death.
In response, Fayette County said it will continue to represent its employees in any potential personal litigation they might face.
Fayette County Director of Public Safety Allen McCullough in an email response to Denney in 2009 contended the county believes its employees had acted appropriately in their actions.
“The Department of Fire and Emergency Services has made a good faith effort on many occasions to address your many questions and concerns regarding the cardiac arrest and the circumstances surrounding the care provided to your husband, Dickie Denney,” McCullough said. “The Department stands behind the care which was provided by our EMS staff to Mr. Denney and there has and will not be any disciplinary action taken against anyone who was involved with his response and care. As stated to you and your family on June 11 our investigation was complete and we found no evidence of any wrong doing on behalf of any of our personnel and no need for any further investigations.”
The suit in Spalding County State Court names Fayette County, Fayette Emergency Medical Technician Jason Crenshaw and up to 10 other “John Does” (unnamed persons) as defendants.
Fayette County along with Crenshaw and potentially EMTs in their official capacity were shielded recently from the lawsuit, according to Fayetteville attorney John Mrosek, who represents Denney.
Mrosek said Spalding County Judge Sidney Esary granted the motion by Fayette County to dismiss Fayette County and to dismiss Jason Crenshaw in his official capacity. The motion was unopposed by Denney, said Mrosek, adding that a case decided by the Georgia Supreme Court after the filing of Denney’s case rendered opposition to the motion to dismiss unnecessary.
“The case, pending in Spalding County State Court, was filed against Fayette County, paramedic Jason Crenshaw and John Does 1 through 10,” Mrosek said of the original filing. “The suit was filed by widow Charlene Denney whose husband Dickie Denney died on April 28, 2009, allegedly due to errors committed by the Fayette County EMS crew that attended to the call. The Denney family telephoned Fayette County EMS at approximately 10:20 p.m. and more than an hour later he was finally delivered to the Piedmont Fayette Hospital, approximately five miles from his house. Mr. Denney was declared dead a half an hour later.”
“What remains in this case is an action against Jason Crenshaw personally (who is a resident of Spalding County) and potentially other EMTs as well. The suit alleges that when the ambulance commanded by Crenshaw pulled over onto a dirt road minutes from the Piedmont Fayette Hospital, that he did so frivolously and in so doing caused the death of Dickie Denney. Rather than head to the better equipped and better staffed Piedmont Fayette Emergency Room, Crenshaw chose to pull over onto the side of the road where he was joined by four EMS vehicles and 11 paramedics and EMT’s. Mrs. Denney contends that this was the unnecessary cause of Mr. Denney’s death.”
“All we want is our day in court,” Charlene Denney said. “Now that professional experts have investigated what really happened that night in the care of my husband and they have all concluded, my husband should be alive today. If I had driven him to the hospital, instead of calling for a Fayette County ambulance, this never would have happened. I want justice for my husband’s wrongful death. I want the county to put cameras in our ambulances to help protect the care given to our citizens with video tape attached to the EMTs PCR (Patient Care Report).”
According to the lawsuit, Denney had worked his way through a series of heart attacks and had attained a good state of health after the installation of a pacemaker. The lawsuit noted that Fayette County Emergency Services staff had visited the home on prior occasions without incident and had transported Denney to either Piedmont Fayette Hospital or Emory University Hospital.
With Denney complaining of mild chest discomfort, EMTs were called to the Adams Road home, arriving there at 10:25 p.m. The home is a short distance from Tyrone Road and approximately 3.62 miles from Piedmont Fayette Hospital, according to the filing. Once on the scene, the EMT that appeared to be in charge at the home was Spalding County resident Jason Crenshaw, according to the lawsuit.
During the home visit and after the initial diagnosis conducted by emergency medical staff “they concluded that Mr. Denney was not in an emergency situation,” the suit stated, adding that EMT’s offered numerous treatment alternatives. Denney said his level of pain was a “3” on a scale of 1-10. The family at some point decided that Denney should be transported to Emory University Hospital.
The lawsuit alleges that during his time at the Denney home Crenshaw “exhibited an angry, antagonistic and malicious attitude and tone to Mr. Denney and to his family and created, in the eyes of witnesses, an atmosphere of hate.” The lawsuit adds that Crenshaw exhibited numerous breaches of national, state and local protocols and breaches of the standard of care from an emergency medical provider.
Crenshaw at some point is said to have administered morphine sulfate without consulting Charlene Denney and in contravention of the established national and state protocols for the administration of the drug, the lawsuit said, adding that Crenshaw’s explanation for administering the morphine was to “knock him out” for the ride, initially planned for Emory University Hospital.
The suit also questions the route taken by the ambulance crew. With the destination subsequently listed as Piedmont Fayette Hospital rather than Emory, the suit questions why the ambulance headed north on Adams Road and stopped on the side of the road near Sandy Creek Road, a route to Piedmont Fayette that would be of significantly greater distance than if the ambulance had gone south on Adams Road to Tyrone Road then east to the hospital.
The suit states that, while parked along the roadway off Sandy Creek Road, two additional crews arrived at the scene. Meanwhile, the ambulance in which Denney was being transported stayed at roadside for approximately 15 minutes before resuming the transport to Piedmont Fayette. The ambulance arrived at the hospital at 11:24 p.m. and Denney was pronounced dead at 11:59 p.m., according to the suit.
Mrosek said 15 depositions have been taken in the case including all of the EMTs involved. The parties will continue with discovery until such time as pre-trial motions and potentially a trial is scheduled, Mrosek added.
Fayette County Administrator Jack Krakeel said the county would continue to provide legal representation for those employees if the case goes to trial.
