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Two EMTs Refuse to Help Dying Pregnant Woman in Brooklyn

By Paul Napoli

December 21, 2009

When asked to help a pregnant woman who was having a seizure, two emergency medical technicians told frantic coffee shop employees to call 911 because they were on a break.

About 9 a.m. on December 9, Eutisha Revee Rennix, 25, complained of shortness of breath and intense stomach pains and collapsed in the women's restroom of the Metrotech Center Au Bon Pain restaurant in downtown Brooklyn where she worked as a cashier. Restaurant employees asked Jason Green, 32, and Melissa Jackson, 32, dispatchers at the FDNY headquarters at Metrotech who were in the restaurant buying bagels, for medical assistance. The two EMTs reportedly told the employees that they were on break and to call 911, they then left the restaurant.

In response to a 911 call, two EMTs from Long Island College Hospital were dispatched at 9:13 a.m. and arrived at the restaurant at 9:24 a.m., but they believed it was a noncritical call and did not bring the proper equipment. FDNY paramedics responded to a second 911 call at 9:22 a.m., placed when Rennix's condition worsened, and arrived at 9:28 a.m.

Emergency crews transported Rennix, who was six months pregnant, to Long Island College Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 10:17 a.m. Her baby was too premature to survive and died.

The Au Bon Pain is popular restaurant of FDNY personnel, the EMS dispatch center that handles 911 calls is in the same building and the FDNY headquarters is nearby in the same Metrotech complex.

The FDNY has suspended Green and Jackson without pay pending results of the department's investigation. The FDNY also suspended the two Long Island College Hospital EMTs due to the questions as to whether they were carrying proper equipment.

'It was unconscionable," said the Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Monday. "The Fire Department, including EMS, is responsible for life-saving, and their first responsibility is to do that. But, even if they weren't part of the Fire Department sworn to protect all of us, just normal human beings, drop your coffee and go help somebody if they're dying. C'mon."

Family buried Rennix and her baby at Canarsie Cemetery on Friday. She leaves behind a three-year-old son.

'All of our members take an oath to assist others in need of emergency medical aid. They have a duty to act when called," said Steve Ritea, an FDNY spokesman.

The passing of a loved one is always a difficult time for family manners, but it can be even more difficult when the loved one was killed due to the negligence of another person or entity. This is known as wrongful death. Call Napoli Bern Ripka, LLP at 888-529-4669 today to discuss your legal options.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Napoli

Full post as published by New York City Personal Injury Lawyer on December 23, 2009 (boomark / email).