Personal Injury Law

Unprofessional conduct of emergency workers at Chicago car accident scenes should meet harsh justice

By Kris Briggs

We are reminded once again about the tragic results of drinking and driving as the case of an Orland Park man comes to court at the end of this month. It?s the perfect time for Chicago accident attorneys to remind drivers that drinking and driving is a lethal combination.

As reported by the Herald News a 2009 New Year's Eve crash killed a 20 year old passenger. The 23 year old driver lost control of his SUV, hit a pole, entered a ditch and rolled over landing on its side.

The driver was charged with two felonies, reckless homicide and aggravated drunken driving which could result in up to 14 years in prison. Sadly the driver's blood-alcohol content at the time of the crash was nearly three times the legal limit.

As if this situation weren't tragic enough; the family of the victim is suing the Cook County Sheriff's office for allegedly unprofessional conduct of the victim's body at the accident scene. The suit claims that protocols weren't followed, and that the victim's clothes were removed for no medical reason.

Photos of the nude body were taken and the body was left exposed to onlookers and other responders at the scene. The suit is asking for over $200,000 for extreme and severe distress. The allegations have been denied by the sheriff's department.

The NBC Today Show featured a similar case in Georgia when a fatal accident was worsened by a firefighter taking video on his cell phone.

The parents of a 23 year old mother of two were devastated by the news that their daughter was killed in a single car crash. They were told very little about the crash other than it happened on a rural Georgia road when her car had hit a grove of trees. They were spared the horrific descriptions of her injuries which even disturbed rescue personnel.

A few months later, the firefighter's cell phone video of their daughter's mangled body ended up on the Internet. They found the audio portion even more disturbing than the gruesome video footage. Firefighters appeared to be more concerned about taking the video then tending to the victim. At one point a firefighter is even asking for better lighting. The victim's parents have filed a complaint with Spalding County and officials have confirmed they are looking into the incident.

The victim's parents are seeking an amendment to state law requesting that emergency responders are banned from carrying a cell phone to calls. Current Georgia statute forbids public agencies from releasing videos to the media. The statute does not apply to this case because the firefighter was using his personal cell phone and did not release the video to the media.

Unprofessional behavior by emergency personnel made these tragic situations worse. In both cases, a lawyer should be consulted to aggressively pursue the rights of the victims and families and to ensure that nothing like it happens again.

Full post as published by Illinois Injury Law Blog on January 12, 2011 (boomark / email).