Seattle death lawsuit over 911 ambulance wait clears hurdle

A lawsuit that blames Seattle's 911 service for the death of a caller who waited 10 hours for an ambulance - and who allegedly never got care - is moving forward.

The city and its ambulance contractor, American Medical Response, recently asked a King County judge to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing the deceased patient's estate can't show her 911 experience caused her death.

Superior Court Judge David Keenan denied that request this week, saying there are factual issues still genuinely under dispute. The case can keep moving toward trial.

The incident dates to April 8, 2022, when 71-year-old Pamela Hogan called 911 with debilitating knee pain. Hogan had to wait for help after her initial call was transferred by a Seattle Fire Department dispatcher to a nurse line operated by AMR. Although she called 911 back four times, she was told to keep waiting.

By the time an AMR ambulance arrived at Hogan's apartment building, it was the middle of the night, and she didn't answer her phone. The ambulance left without her, and her body was found weeks later decomposing on the floor next to her bed.

The Seattle Times highlighted Hogan's story last month in reporting on questions about Seattle's 911 medical system and AMR's nurse line.

Hogan's long ambulance wait was allowed under contract terms that remain in place today. When the city started routing certain 911 callers to the nurse line in 2022, it stopped capping and tracking their ambulance response times. National experts and watchdogs have said the setup should be reviewed.

Death cause disputed

Hogan's estate sued last year. In asking Keenan to dismiss the case, the city and AMR described it as speculative, arguing there's insufficient evidence connecting Hogan's ambulance delay to her death.

Phone records show a few outbound calls from Hogan's phone about two days after her calls to 911, attorneys for the city and AMR said. That suggests she lived for a while after missing her ambulance ride, the attorneys said.

Also, Hogan's dead body was found six weeks later, the attorneys noted, describing that time gap as too long to support the lawsuit's allegations.

There was no autopsy, and the medical examiner's office reported the cause of death as probable heart disease, rather than the knee problem that Hogan called 911 about, the attorneys for the city and AMR added.

Attorneys for Hogan's estate pointed Keenan to other aspects of Hogan's story.

Hogan told an AMR nurse she was trapped in bed with 10 out of 10 pain, unable to walk, eat, drink or get to the bathroom. The nurse recommended Hogan get care within four hours, but more than 10 hours passed before an ambulance was sent.

Hogan called 911 back several times to express concern about her wait and told a Fire Department dispatcher she had congestive heart failure. The dispatcher responded, "We are not going to play that game."

Hogan told the Fire Department it could break down her seventh-floor apartment door, if necessary. Instead, the AMR ambulance crew sent to her building left the address after three minutes, apparently without seeing her.

The medical examiner's office found receipts and food items in Hogan's apartment dating to before she called 911 but none afterward.

Medical experts retained by Hogan's estate said her long wait and immobilization probably contributed to her heart issues and death. They said she probably would have lived if she'd received prompt care.

Although Hogan's phone records show a few outgoing calls on April 10, two days after her calls to 911, the records show no such calls after April 10, her estate's attorneys noted. They said Hogan likely died April 10, arguing a jury should ultimately decide whether the city and AMR were to blame.

Keenan said it wouldn't be appropriate to dismiss the case at this point.

Fire Department's analysis

Records disclosed this week include a quality assurance analysis of Hogan's 911 calls that the Fire Department conducted in mid-2023, soon after Hogan's son requested copies of his mother's call recordings.

The analysis concluded that transferring Hogan to the nurse line was appropriate because she called 911 with a "chronic, non-life-threatening problem." However, when she told a Fire Department dispatcher she had congestive heart failure, it may have been appropriate to ask if she was experiencing symptoms other than knee pain, the analysis said.

The analysis didn't assess how Hogan's experience might have been affected by gaps in communication between the Fire Department and AMR, AMR's delayed response or the city's relaxed wait-time standards.

Mayor Katie Wilson has declined to comment on Hogan's case and the city's 911 medical system, other than to say she's interested. City Councilmember Bob Kettle has said he plans to review the matter in his public safety committee.

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