Photo courtesy of Curtis Mitchell family.
Curtis Mitchell of Hazelwood died in 2010 due to the lack of preparedness of management of the city. They settled with the family several days ago.
A settlement of the lawsuit brought by Curtis Mitchell’s children means that the public likely never will hear the first-hand accounts of the paramedics and officials on duty when the February 2010 blizzard stalled efforts to get the Hazelwood man treatment for abdominal pain.[1]
Does Public Safety Director Michael Huss continue to claim that one individual killed Curtis Mitchell by making an inappropriate comment in a phone call to dispatch that just happened to be recorded?
While the city expressed regret at Curtis Mitchell’s death two years ago, court filings indicate that it was preparing a spirited defense addressing Mitchell’s long-term medical problems and use of alcohol and painkillers. The city also blamed Ms. Edge for not doing more to help Mitchell during his final hours.[1]
None of these are any excuse for the horrible lack of preparation by the city.
One 4 wheel drive vehicle for all of EMS in a hilly city that does get snow every year.
Adequate?
All of the city officers seem to have had personal 4 wheel drive vehicles. Do they need to be better prepared than EMS?
City public safety director Michael Huss publicly criticized his medics for not walking to Mitchell’s home, borrowing a 4-wheel-drive vehicle from a nearby fire station or finding other means to reach him.[1]
That kind of preparation is what Public Safety Director Michael Huss is paid to do.
If the city’s plan is for EMS to shovel their way a quarter of a mile in a blizzard to reach a patient, then try to shovel their way back with the patient, then the city is definitely not even close to prepared.
Arbitrator James C. Duff later reinstated Ms. Dimon, saying she was made a scapegoat by city officials who had themselves to blame for a poor blizzard response.[1]
That isn’t the union lawyer stating that the city is at fault.
That is from an independent arbitrator.
Three times, ambulances got to within a quarter-mile of his Hazelwood home, or closer, but could go no further on snow-clogged roads. Three times, according to the suit, paramedics requested that Mitchell walk to them.[1]
That was the disaster plan of Public Safety Director Michael Huss.
Each time dispatch asked Curtis Mitchell to walk to the ambulance, dispatch cancelled the ambulance and sent them on another call. This does not appear to be the fault of dispatch, since they were following the disaster plan of Public Safety Director Michael Huss and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.
Public Safety Director Michael Huss (foreground) and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl (background).
They look ashamed, but they were still trying to blame others during this press conference.
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We all had ample time to prepare.
– Cecil County Director of Emergency Services Richard Brooks.[2]
This is from an excellent podcast covering this same storm. The podcast describes how to prepare for potential disasters.
See also Common Sense Prevails from Too Old To Work, Too Young To Retire.
and –
City may discipline EMS workers – Public Safety Director Michael Huss – 02/18/10
Where Was Public Safety Director Michael Huss during the Death of Curtis Mitchell? – 02/20/10
Public Safety Director Michael Huss and Others Continue to Blame the Medics for the Snow – 02/22/10
The Need for Evidence Before Assessing Guilt – 02/24/10
Anonymous Comments on the Death of Curtis Mitchell – 03/02/10
Podcasting, Critical Judgment, and the Death of Curtis Mitchell Part I – 03/22/10
Podcasting, Critical Judgment, and the Death of Curtis Mitchell Part II – 03/22/10
Podcasting, Critical Judgment, and the Death of Curtis Mitchell Part III – 03/22/10
What kind of punishment do you get for NOT disobeying dispatch? – 03/23/10
The Scapegoats Will Be Punished – 03/23/10
Pittsburgh – Punishment, not Planning – 03/24/10
Josie Dimon was the Scapegoat of Public Safety Director Michael Huss in the Death of Curtis Mitchell – 02/16/11
Michael Huss – Pittsburgh EMS Only Needs Someone Good With a Shovel – 02/16/11
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Footnotes:
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[1] Pittsburgh, county settle lawsuit over death during blizzard
September 19, 2012 12:04 am
By Joe Smydo
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Article
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[2] From Mitigation Journal –
EMS Under the Bus in Pittsburgh – 02/28/10
And in the Mitigation Journal podcast –
From the MedicCast –
Snow Storm 2010 Response and Episode 208 of the MedicCast – 02/28/10
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Thank you for sharing this. It is very frustrating that EMS personnel is often the scapegoat when things go wrong. Realizing that poor planning during times of disaster is not something that paramedics and EMTs can always get around is an important logic to highlight to the general public.
Melanie,
Blaming someone is only about pointing to someone who can be made to seem unsympathetic, even though the person followed orders from dispatch.
The disaster plan was for dispatch to encourage people to walk to the ambulance.
The executive backup plan was – we saved a lot of money by only buying four wheel drive vehicles for executives, but not for the people who actually do work. They get shovels.
Why plow any of the streets at all? We can have EMS shovel the streets. That is what they are there for.
Public Safety Director Michael Huss and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl demonstrated a complete lack of understanding of how to manage resources.
Public Safety Director Michael Huss and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl planned this disaster. They are still in office.
The late Curtis Mitchell did not get to the hospital because of their planning. He is still dead.
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In a truly just system the public safety director and the Mayor would have to pay this settlement, as well as that of MS. Dimon, out of their own pockets.
Too Old To Work,
That would suggest accountability. I do not see any accountability for creating the environment that led to this death.
.