AMR, city sued over man's death after being forced out of ambulance
Julian Coleman, a 48-year-old Black man, died two weeks after being escorted out of a city-contracted ambulance while he was having a medical crisis. Now, his estate is suing the City of Rochester and the ambulance company American Medical Response in federal court.
EMT workers from AMR claimed Coleman was being unruly. Yet in the Nov. 30 incident video released two months later by the City of Rochester, Coleman can be heard telling them he was trying to find air.
A complaint, filed by Stephen Schwarz and co-counsel Robert King at the law firm Faraci Lange LLP on behalf of Julian D. Green, Coleman's oldest son, alleges that the defendants violated Coleman's civil rights.
Emergency medical personnel and police officers involved in the incident are also named defendants.
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Timeline according to the lawsuit
The official complaint filed in federal court reveals a timeline that provides additional insight into the events of Nov. 30, which were partially captured on officer body-worn and nearby surveillance cameras.
According to the lawsuit, Julian Coleman called 911 for an ambulance and was picked up by an AMR ambulance at the corner of Seneca Avenue and Norton Street.
Coleman reported shortness of breath to EMTs Nicole Kuntz and Melanie Torres, according to the filing. When Kuntz began her assessment, Coleman became anxious about his breathing and grabbed Kuntz's arm in "a moment of desperate panic."
Kuntz and Torres allegedly never provided Coleman with supplemental oxygen to help his breathing before or during his panic.
Furthermore, Kuntz "abandoned all efforts to assess the needs of and provide care" to Coleman and placed a distressed call to the Rochester Police Department asking for officers to help protect her from Coleman, the suit claims.
RPD arrived, and Officer Christopher Morales ordered Coleman out of the ambulance.
Coleman sat on a nearby bench before collapsing. He was motionless for three minutes, unattended by EMTs and police officers.
'Against the police policy': AMR incident precedes death
The family's attorney, Stephen Schwarz, says when the police intervened they took Coleman into temporary custody, and then neglected his medical needs when he collapsed. Schwarz said if the Rochester man had refused temporary custody, he could have been prosecuted.
"What should have happened is they should have gone with the ambulance to the hospital if there was some concern for the safety of the EMTs," Schwarz said. "But none of that happened, and that is clearly against both the EMT protocol and, we believe, against the police policy."
After officers and EMTs took no action to evaluate Coleman's condition or provide medical assistance, the lawsuit claims, Officer Jonathan Nettnin approached and shined a flashlight on him. He told AMR Paramedic Gregory Smith that Coleman had blood coming out of his mouth.
It took about 15 minutes before Smith could restore Coleman's pulse.
He was then transported to Rochester General Hospital, where he arrived unresponsive and in critical condition. Coleman never regained consciousness after collapsing beside the ambulance. The lawsuit does not detail whether medical reports indicate foul play in the ultimately deadly incident.
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What medical tests show in the death of Julian Coleman
Blood testing performed on Julian Coleman's arrival at RGH was consistent with severe hypoxia, with an elevated blood CO2 level, a severely decreased blood pH level, and other laboratory results consistent with metabolic and respiratory acidosis and hypoxia.
An MRI conducted on Dec. 4 confirmed the diagnosis of an anoxic brain injury, indicating that his brain had been deprived of oxygen.
Due to the lack of potential for brain function recovery, the physicians at RGH recommended the removal of life support.
Coleman died on Dec. 15.
"Based upon our analysis of the medical records and the autopsy report and our expert's review of the same, we believe that Mr. Coleman suffered a cardiopulmonary arrest because he was having difficulty breathing," Stephen Schwarz said. "We also believe that had he been provided with oxygen while in the ambulance and not been forced out of the ambulance, this entire event could have been avoided."
The city of Rochester, its police department and AMR declined to comment, citing the active litigation.
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Next steps in lawsuit against city and AMR
Julian Coleman's family is devastated by his death and heartbroken from watching the footage of their father being deprived of medical care, according to attorney Stephen Schwarz.
Schwarz stated that the city is listed as a defendant in this case for negligence because, under state law, it is responsible for the actions of its employees. In this instance, the police officers allegedly failed to provide adequate medical assistance to Coleman.
He believes that during the discovery process, the legal team will obtain evidence showing that the defendants did not follow the policies for these situations.
"If you watch the video, Mr Coleman was a long way from dangerous," Schwarz said. "But even still, assuming that he got panicked for not being able to breathe, I think the analogy that you think about here is that people that are drowning frequently will almost drown the people trying to save them."
— Madison Scott is a journalist with the Democrat and Chronicle who edited our Weld Street Project and also did reporting for it. She has an interest in how the system helps or doesn't help families with missing loved ones. She can be reached at MDScott@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Lawsuit filed after patient forced out of Rochester ambulance died
