Estate of Owen v. Huntsville Emergency Medical Services, Inc., et al

On May 23, 2024, in this wrongful death and medical negligence lawsuit, the Alabama jury returned a $15 million jury verdict in favor of Robert Owen’s estate represented by his widow, Gloria Owens.

Case Background

Gloria Owen took legal action after the wrongful death of her 81-year-old military veteran husband, Robert Owen caused due to an extremely negligent ambulance ride. The case was filed before the Alabama State, Limestone County Courthouse. Judge B. Chadwick Wise presided over this case. [20-900156]

Cause

81-year-old Robert Owen had a long history of heart issues. On April 21, 2019, Owen went to Huntsville Hospital with chest pain complaints. The next day, doctors performed a cardiac catheterization.

The diagnosis revealed Owen faced end-stage heart failure. Doctors suggested a coronary bypass surgery and possibly stent placement.

Huntsville Hospital hesitated to perform the risky surgery. Consequently, on April 23, 2019, Owen was transferred to UAB Hospital in Birmingham for evaluation and possible surgery. Huntsville Hospital arranged for the transfer using Huntsville Emergency Medical Services, Inc. (HEMSI), specifying advanced life support (ALS) ambulance transport, which required continuous monitoring of Owen.

The HEMSI crew included Calvin Hui, a paramedic, and Jacob Steele, an EMT. Steele had a history of drug abuse and behavioral issues. He had been up late the previous night using drugs and racing motorcycles.

Steele and Hui loaded Owen into the ambulance and headed to Birmingham. While Hui monitored Owen in the back, Steele drove. Steele repeatedly fell asleep at the wheel, drifting out of his lane and missing his exit. Steele eventually pulled over and admitted he could no longer drive. This situation upset Owen significantly.

Hui contacted his supervisor, Christopher Nunley, requesting a new crew for the transfer. Instead, Nunley instructed Hui to switch roles with Steele, making Hui the driver and Steele the passenger. Hui and Steele complied, but Steele, now in the back, reclined, watched videos, and fell asleep with headphones on.

Owen started experiencing severe chest pain, radiating to his left arm, shoulder, and jaw. He cried out for help, but Steele, asleep and distracted, did not hear him. Hui eventually heard Owen and, unable to wake Steele, administered nitroglycerin himself after locating it with difficulty.

Hui then resumed driving but became lost for fifteen minutes, increasing Owen’s stress and panic. They finally reached UAB Hospital, where Owen was transferred successfully. However, Owen died eleven days later on May 4, 2019.

Owen’s estate blamed his death on a second heart attack caused by the stress from the ambulance transfer.

Injury

Robert Owen’s widow, Gloria Owen, acting as the personal representative of his estate, filed a lawsuit against the ambulance company, Huntsville Emergency Medical Services, Inc. She also named HEMSI employees Jacob Steele, Calvin Hui, Christopher Nunley, and Dea Calce as Defendants. The lawsuit claimed that the events during Robert’s transport caused him unnecessary stress, worry, anxiety, and delays in treatment. These issues allegedly led to further heart damage and subsequently, his wrongful death eleven days later.

Damages

The Plaintiffs filed for damages for the wrongful death of Robert Owen caused eleven days after his second heart attack brought on by the stress caused during the ambulance ride. They also filed for damages for loss of consortium.

Key Arguments and Proceedings

Legal Representation

Claims

The Plaintiff argued that Hui should have refused to proceed with the transfer and demanded a replacement crew. The Plaintiff criticized Steele for his overall incompetence during the transfer. Additionally, Plaintiff held HEMSI responsible for assigning Steele to the transfer despite his known drug use and over 80 reported incidents of problematic behavior. This behavior included impairment, reckless driving, inattention, incompetence, and cruelty.

Defense

Hui, Steele, and HEMSI all defended the case and denied having caused Owen’s death. Defendants pointed to Owen’s long history of heart problems and noted that his prognosis had been grim at best. The notion that the ambulance transfer had been so stressful that it caused further damage to Owen’s heart, caused him to have a second heart attack, and led to his death eleven days later struck defendants as absurd.

Expert Testimony

Both sides in this case identified a large number of experts. The identified experts for the estate included Dr. Eric Thomas, Dr. Heather Luing, and Dr. John Schweiger. The identified defense experts included Dr. Michael Kurz, Dr. Allen Dollar, Dr. Walter Watford, and Dr. J. Bradley Cavender.

Jury Verdict

The case was tried in Athens for ten days. On May 23, 2024, the Alabama jury returned a verdict for the Plaintiff’s estate. The jury awarded damages of $ 15,000,000 for the wrongful death of Robert Owens to his estate represented by his widow, Gloria Owens.

Plaintiff’s attorney David Marsh commented, “It (HEMSI) consciously disregarded numerous red flags for months and allowed a person with a documented history of drug abuse to continue operating ambulances on Alabama’s public roadways, violating numerous internal policies and procedures, State regulations, and EMS protocols in the process,”

Court Documents:

Available upon request