IFMK Attorney of Counsel, Gary Cook and Partner, Joyce Pollack won summary judgment on a wrongful death case in Bond County, Illinois. A woman was being transported by ambulance and the ambulance driver fell asleep at the wheel causing an accident. The decedent was ejected from the restraints on the gurney inside the ambulance. She survived for two months before she died. Bond County had contracted with a private ambulance company for ambulance services within the County. Bond County had leased the subject ambulance to the private ambulance company with the intent that the ambulance would be used to service Bond County residents. Bond County was aware of, and acquiesced to, the use of the ambulance outside the county for emergency purposes. However, Bond County was not aware of this particular transport which was outside Bond County. The subject ambulance had a logo on its side which stated “Bond County Emergency Medical Services”.
Plaintiffs unsuccessfully asserted that the EMS workers were acting as either actual or apparent agents of Bond County at the time of the accident. Medical personnel at the hospital requesting the transport were not aware that “Bond County” ambulance was dispatched for this transport. The IFMK attorneys successfully demonstrated that the EMS workers were the exclusive agents of the private ambulance company, and that there were no material facts which preclude the entry of summary judgment.