A Phoenix man is partly blaming his wife’s death on the Phoenix Fire Department after they failed to find she was having a heart attack, ABC 15 reports.
Bruce Sandberg filed a notice of claim against the city in June, after the death of his 53-year-old wife, Francesca. The notice of claim means he intends to sue the city.
The family also questions if a new law that prevents paramedics from diagnosing patients and bans them from counseling a patient to decline an ambulance ride played a role in her death.
On New Year’s Eve, according to the report, Francesca was sick with COVID-19 for weeks, and took a turn for the worse that morning.
And instead of an ambulance arriving to her house, a fire engine showed up. Those who evaluated her found she did not need to go by ambulance because she was a COVID-19 patient, internal records with the fire department concluded.
Francesca was later taken to the hospital by her husband, where she later died.
The investigation also found discrepancies in the firefighters’ incident report and raised questions about if firefighters performed the appropriate tests – such as an EKG.
In a statement, the Phoenix Fire Department said, “our procedures dictate that we transport any customer to the hospital who requests transport via ambulance.”
The internal investigation found Captain Chris Stelzer and Firefighter Jared Peterson were in violation of patient care and consent policies. Officials refused to say if any members of the crew were disciplined.
