A lawsuit filed by the family of a living man who was declared dead, packed into a body bag and taken to a morgue charges the mistake led to injuries from which he might never recover.

In a demonstration to Columbia County High School, Florida EMS and police personnel prepare to zip a dummy patient into a body bag.

Larry D. Green, who now lives in a nursing home in Wilson, was walking across a highway north of Louisburg in January 2005 when he was hit by a car. At the scene, the lawsuit alleges, medical officials inadequately checked his vital signs, failing to notice that his heart was still beating even though he didn’t have a noticeable pulse and didn’t appear to be breathing.

The lawsuit charges that emergency responders didn’t use monitors _ such as an electrocardiogram monitor or a stethoscope _ that would have shown that Green was still alive.

“Franklin County EMS mandated that resuscitation efforts should be undertaken immediately ‘if doubt exists,’” the lawsuit said, charging that medical workers at the scene violated policy in their care of Green.

Full article via the Associated Press

Filed under: EMS, Proper Practices