By Sophia Lada
The News Herald
FLAT ROCK, Mich. — The City of Flat Rock was forced to pay $1.5 million to settle a court case involving the alleged negligence of a 61-year-old woman who died after allegedly being refused vital checks and transportation to a local hospital by first responders.
Flat Rock City Attorney Matthew Zick said the city has insurance for situations like this, so it paid a $15,000 deductible and the city’s insurance covered the rest.
According to court documents obtained by The News Herald, the day started at 4:56 a.m. when a disabled 61-year-old woman, Jane Krentler, called 911 and said she was having trouble breathing. In the call, she also provided her address and reported she was diabetic. The dispatcher on the phone let her know EMTs would be dispatched.
At 5:31 a.m., she called 911 again, this time with more labored breathing and spoke in broken sentences. Firefighters Thomas Miller, Jr. and Brandon Hicks left for the woman’s apartment and arrived at 5:41 a.m.
In a Michigan State Police investigation following this incident, Hicks said when they arrived at the residence, he allegedly remembered her as “the woman that calls and doesn’t actually have a medical complaint.”
Upon arrival, Miller and Hicks asked the victim if she wanted to go to the hospital, to which she responded she couldn’t breathe and needed help with her oxygen prompting Hicks to change a hose.
After doing so, the documents say the firefighters allegedly refused to check her vitals, oxygen level or any other required assessments and left her at 5:48 a.m. The two later reported she refused any treatment or transport to the hospital though she never signed a refusal.
Because of her disorientation due to lack of oxygen, she was deemed incompetent and the firefighters were required to contact medical control at a local hospital to let them determine whether she should have been transported, which they did not do. Court documents say Miller had to start his day job 12 minutes after they left her residence.
By 5:50 a.m., Fire Chief James Katona requested all radio and phone logs from dispatch regarding the incident.
By 11:45 a.m., the woman had died. Miller, Hicks, Katona and the City of Flat Rock were charged with gross negligence, a wrongful death Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act claim, loss of society and companionship and exemplary damages. The city was also charged with respondeat superior.
City attorney Zick said that the two involved EMTs were immediately fired from the city and never worked another shift with the department following the incident.
“What happened here was a complete and unnecessary tragedy. Many mistakes were made by many people at the City of Flat Rock. We can only hope and pray that steps have been taken to make certain that no other individual or family has to go through what our client and her family suffered,” plaintiff’s attorney John McNally wrote in an email.
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