FARMINGTON, Maine — Maine state authorities investigating the death of a Canadian man who died en route to the hospital after a skiing accident at Sugarloaf resort have cleared two responders.
The director of Maine Emergency Medical Services, a division of the state Department of Public Safety, told the Morning Sentinel that complaints were dismissed against two NorthStar ambulance employees because they arrived at the scene at the end of the call and did not participate in patient care.
Director Jay Bradshaw did not disclose names.
The agency launched an investigation into the Jan. 12 death of 41-year-old David Morse of Harmony, Nova Scotia, after his wife complained about the care he got in an ambulance on the way to Franklin Memorial Hospital.
Bradshaw says the investigation continues.
And people without proper skills kill people too.
I thought it odd that you felt compelled to put “This Canadian” as opposed to “This man” or “This guy”…If he was from Bangor would you have put “This Bangorian”????? Seems like you have some other issues to work out here that don’t involve a skiing accident.
First line says “death of a Canadian man ” the articles words not mine.
This is just the ground work for who is going to get the law suit summons.
Where is sprucedweller? Maybe she can shed some light on how the Canadians would have handled this situation.
…….”This” canadian came to Maine..
…………..maybe this one jumped out in front of him..
…………………his ego wrote a check his body couldn”t cash.
I would suggest, you proof read your comment before you put them to type !!
David Morse, who unfortunately lost his life in a sking accident’….. has CHILDREN!!!!
Seriously? It’s the same posters on here all the time, I know, I’m one of them. I wouldn’t worry too much about his “CHILDREN”. Do you really, I mean REALLY, think they read the BDN comment blog? Most people don’t, just people with nothing better to do.
Even if they did, do you really think the children care what some “dip shi”p from Bangor thinks? C’mon!
To kylie00: the lawsuit isn’t about him dieing because he was skiing, it is about the care he received en route to the hospital from the emergency responders. If you have read the previous articles about this you would know they left his wife on the side of the road and are being questions because the wife believes they did not do the proper procedures during the ride to the hospital (the wife who works in the medical field). No matter what “sport” you are taking part in whether it be a dangerous sport or not, you should always receive the proper care from the emergency responders, American, Canadian – it doesn’t matter and your comments are rude.
The quarter mile or so that Mrs. Morse was in the ambulance would not give her sufficient time to assess if the ambulance crew were treating him properly. It is a long trip from Sugarloaf to the hospital and much can happen during that time. If she were left by the side of the road by the ambulance crew, it is most likely because she was a disruptive element in her husband’s care. A frantic wife trying to tell a paramedic what to do is something they can do without, and they did put her out. Without knowing all the facts (I wasn’t there), this seems to be case. He died of chest trauma. Was this exacerbated by the wife’s attempts at CPR?
This is exactly what I’ve been saying likely happened. When I posted on the original article people were all, “How dare you call her hysterical and disruptive!” Well, wouldn’t you be a little hysterical if your husband was injured this way? Some people will not listen to reason…
“Some people will not listen to reason…” which is why who rides to the hospital in the ambulance is up to the crew.
jd, mooselake, some people CANNOT listen to reason, when it involves a loved one. On the morning I found my husband dead in his chair, I began CPR, and when the EMT’s arrived and balked at taking him to the hospital, I insisted and fortunately, I was backed up by police officer already on scene. I was too late, but I have the peace of mind of knowing that it was not possible to save him. Maybe, for those of us with in-hospital experience, we have seen enough miracles to be hopeful. As I stated above, it does seem that the trauma suffered by this man was NOT survivable, but his widow will never have the peace of mind of knowing that everything that could have been done, was done, because she was left at the side of the road.
To me, that does not even seem safe, unless she was really combative. Obviously, I wasn’t there and I do realize that EMT’s and paramedics have to make some very difficult choices some times. As a medical professional, it would have had to be a really extreme situation before I would put a family member out of the truck.
Good points but you missed one. They also must make these very tough decisions in a matter of seconds at times. The tough part is when the situation is settled people will and can always look and ask if they did the right thing. With a negative outcome hindsight is often 20/20. There is no doubt all involved in this terrible accident will always be sadly impacted. Obviously none of us were there but it doesn’t appear that malice was exhibited by any party, just people trying to save a life and do the best they could for all. Either way, so sad for all, particularly the children.
Let me add one point, it was snowing and add in any disruptive influence and the driver no longer has their attention on where it needs to be…driving.
Personnaly, I have never asked anyone to get out of my ambulance during transport. But I have refused several times requests to ride in with us.
Isn’t his wife an ER nurse?
I thought she was a critical care nurse. There is a big difference between the two.
The wife is a Nurse Practitioner.
“Morse’s widow, reportedly a nurse practitioner with 10 years of experience in an intensive care unit,”
I didn’t remember the first part. Thanks
“10 years of experience in an intensive care unit”
No experience in the pre-hospital setting.
How do you know that this man did not catch an edge that took him into the woods ? Even experts catch edges an 99% of the time they crash .
So, these two responders arrived at the end of the “call” and did not participate in patient care but were named in the investigation…….and their names were recorded on the EMS run sheet…..Why were these two even included in any complaints??…..and the investigation continues……
Because the Canadian woman wants to get money from everyone she can. If she wasn’t in it for the money she would try to get the E.M.T.’s fired. Everyone has a price.
this whole investigation is not adding up.seems to be a lot missing here.
This article leads us to beleive that there were more than two medics in the back of the ambulance?
Wow. We are a volunteer group and usually have no more than three medics back there. Add the wife and it was crowded back there. The way the article was written makes it unclear and I really hope the medics did all they could in the situation and are cleared if all is above board. Guess we will have to wait further, either for clarification or to find out the whole story.
It is my impression that the ambulance crew has legal command of the accident scene ( patients) upon thier arrival. This command also overrides better educated healthcare providers ( nurses/MDs). One may ask if this is good or bad, but in light of the emotional component of a loved one and the potential disruption that person may have on care delivery at the scene, it may be good. This fact is sometimes a very hard thing for a nurse/wife to comprehend/understand. Maybe the paramedic/EMT association ( if they have one) needs to look at this fact as a need for community education.
EMT’s and Paramedics should have legal command, if they do not. As an x-ray tech, years ago, I stopped at the scene of a motorcycle/car collision in which the motorcyclist sustained a severe head and neck injuries. Having witnessed the accident, and being aware of the severity of injuries to motorcyclist, I gave an account of the accident and detailed injuries to biker to the first responding police unit. When the ambulance arrived on the scene, the officer tried to tell the EMT’s I would direct the removal of the biker from the hood of the car. I explained to the officer that those guys were much better equipped and more experienced at that part of the job and that I would be happy to assist only if asked. Every medical person has a place on the team, but it is best if we let those trained in a particular area, do their jobs accordingly. Sadly, from all I have read, this accident was one of those that was simply not survivable. It appears this man had severe, internal trauma and bleeding. However, the way they treated his wife is unforgivable.
OK. We have established that the ambulance and the two crew who weren’t there are not at fault. Good work. Anything else?
This is just one reason why I think that
ambulances should have cameras mandatory in them then they will have proof of what happened. I dont know why they dont already have cameras they do in cop cars so why not??
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996