A Medway man died after paramedics allegedly did not provide oxygen and failed to secure him to a gurney, which allowed him to fall off.
Two employees with Medway Ambulance Service responded to a call around 3 a.m. on April 16, 2022, for Kenneth LaPorte Sr., 72. His oxygen saturation levels were around 74 percent, according to a lawsuit filed in Penobscot County Superior Court.
The emergency medical technicians failed to provide LaPorte oxygen, forced him to walk to the ambulance and did not secure him to a gurney when they attempted to load him into the ambulance, per the lawsuit.
It adds that when the EMTs failed to do their duties, they were the proximate cause of LaPorte’s death.
Their actions caused emotional distress to Susan LaPorte, Kenneth’s wife of 53 years, and grandson Ryan Pepin, who witnessed LaPorte’s fall, injuries and death. The lawsuit alleges Medway was negligent, negligently inflicted mental distress, caused LaPorte’s wrongful death and caused LaPorte to have conscious suffering before he died.
Medway denied the allegations in a written response.
The two EMTs are not named in the lawsuit. They were employees of Medway, which means the city is responsible for their actions, according to the lawsuit.
Susan LaPorte and Pepin are requesting $750,000 for loss of comfort, society and companionship, $250,000 for punitive damages, and reasonable amounts for various expenses including medical, funeral and attorney fees.
LaPorte was a father of three, had 12 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, his obituary said. He was proud of his family and family gatherings were important. He loved watching birds and people from his front porch.
By the end of the events, LaPorte, an Army and National Guard veteran, allegedly had a gash on the back of his head, had black and blue bruises to his face, was covered in dirt and his ears and neck were black.
When EMTs arrived on scene and went into the home, one emergency medical technician refused the medical bag the driver brought, saying “I do not need the bag, take it back out,” according to the lawsuit.
An EMT had LaPorte walk “an unreasonable distance” to the ambulance, instead of placing him on a gurney and using the wheelchair ramp. No vital signs were taken before the decision was made, the lawsuit continued.
He used oxygen and the tube was not long enough to reach the ambulance, so an EMT allegedly disconnected it. The EMT “negligently failed” to use the portable oxygen during the 50-foot walk.
LaPorte was then placed on a gurney but not strapped onto it.
After an EMT went into the ambulance and got an oxygen tube, that person then tried to untangle the tubing outside the ambulance.
LaPorte stopped breathing during that time, the lawsuit said.
When LaPorte was lifted into the ambulance, he slid off the gurney because he was not secured to it. As he fell he hit his head on the ambulance’s bumper and then the ground before rolling under the bumper, per the lawsuit.
His head and neck stayed under the bumper while his torso was exposed. The EMT did not try to move LaPorte to provide medical care for his head. LaPorte was also not moved to a gurney where CPR is more effective than on the ground, the lawsuit said.
LaPorte was pronounced dead after about 30 minutes of CPR. His cause of death was acute respiratory failure, according to his death certificate. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was also a cause of death, which he had for about five years.
Medway created a tentative policy for strapping patients to gurneys but it was never implemented, per the lawsuit. The ambulance service was discontinued after that event.
