This is appalling !!!

[Amphora]

This is sickening. Those EMT's should of helped out. But they were to busy drinking their coffee.

[Rhage]

How horrendous.

The quotes from the EMT spokesman: "Our people tend to spring into action whether they're on duty, off duty, whatever they're doing," said Robert Ungar, spokesman for the Uniformed EMTS and Paramedics, FDNY, explaining that Emergency medical practitioners consider themselves to be on call 24 hours a day.

The local EMTs have a "very strong bond with the people of New York City that they serve," he said. "They view themselves as always being on duty."

What bullshit! Even if they weren't EMTs, they are humans and, as such, should have helped out a fellow human being. Now that's two lives lost and a toddler without it's mother.

Pitiful

[Autumnlicious]

A sure sign of the sickness that is the human condition is that others spring into full emotional moodswings and calls for some form of blood letting at the slightest hint of a sensational news. Had this woman's death been prompted by a lack of proper healthcare in her own home, she would be but a footnote in the daily paper. From the news reports, she collapsed and suffered multiple organ failure. Even with the best of care, chances leaned heavily towards her not making it. And while these EMT's showed an incredible lack of humanity, disregard for their sworn oath (see the oath they took) and an attitude that destroys trust - one must ask, was there a way to save her before this occurred?

The EMT's did break their oath and are likely to lose their jobs, but calling for jail time is plain ridiculous, unjust within current framework, and short sighted (change the laws if you feel that strongly). Good Samaritan laws in the US do NOT demand one to act, just protect one in case you have the courage to. The EMT's were not on duty either, sadly.

To think a den of free thinkers fall immediately to the emotional wayside when an unexpected and catastrophic event occurs bodes ill indeed - makes me wonder what the non-critical thinkers will demand.

And yes - she is dead. If your going to ask why, try exploring the path to this tragedy, don't just react like animals. Two deaths are a drop in the fold of a tormented system and society. Be nice for people to motivate change for the better.

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

@Synackaon:

The responses here were reasonable in context in my opninion.

I'm assuming the people here took the story on face value,which is what I did.This is a news story,about some woman in the US whom I did not know or care about.The story was from a source to which I afford little credibility (IE; an internet forum) from an even less credible original source..
MY comments referred only to the behaviour of the EMTs AS REPORTED, which was indeed appalling in my opinion.

I make no equivocation and attempt no speculation about the woman or her circumstances because they are irrellevent to the issue. There is only one issue with which I'm concerned;the behaviour of the professionals who SEEM to have failed in their duty to the point of criminal culpability. The final decision rests with professional review and the legal system, not the court of public opinion.

By 'concerned' I actually mean 'mildly interested'. I have now reached the outer limit of my interest.

[chatpilot]

@Synackaon:

Being off duty does not mean that you stop being a professional. The woman's preexisting condition is irrelevant to the issue at hand. As trained medical technicians they had the moral responsibility to try everything in their power to save that woman's life. If she died regardless of their efforts is another story altogether and no one can hold them accountable for that. Besides, they were not off duty they were on break there is a huge difference.

I live in New York city so any distrust in the source I have provided is my fault. This story was on every major news network locally and nationally in the states and I happen to reside in New York myself. Here's an update from today's local newspaper: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009...mt23m.html

Also, the two emts were dispatchers and sources claim they were certified but had not worked in the field for a long time. But in my opinion they still had the obligation to at least attempt to help the woman even if it was with basic cpr or if she was coherent trying to comfort her while an ambulance arrived. The district attorney is seriously considering filing criminal charges and there is the possibility of jail time for the pair as well.

For those interested in reading the Emt Oath and code of ethics here it is:

http://www.naemt.org/about_us/emtoath.aspx There are some things in there that do apply to this case.

[Autumnlicious]

@padraic: Thanks for clearing that up. I understand now why, but I find a more pressing matter is the twisting of law to enforce activity from off duty personnel, which turns voluntary good Samaritan action into a forced situation, where if something terribly wrong occurs, devolves into a rather unpleasant legal proceeding which attempts to read someone's mind and motives, all while treating them like a criminal.

@chatpilot: I have no need for emotional rants or tautological statements. And your dismissal of my earlier 'pre-existing' condition point holds no water, since examining the situation entails examining all the steps leading up to that incident. Or, of course, you could just focus on the most base facts and appearance of this case and just leave it at that. Let two more people and those who depend on them be destroyed with no real exploration of the circumstances or causes in the first place, all in the name of being bloody minded and angry.

Per your statement about the dispatchers and training, a defending attorney would no doubt explore the aspect that the defendants were confident they'd do more harm than good, to which the reasonable course of action would be to stay away from the victim. Or let us say they were afraid and frozen by fear. Would you still be treating them like criminals? I'd hope not. Sure, if it goes to court, then it will have to explore why they didn't act. It might be that they are total sociopaths, who knows?

Have you ever seen someone you know become violently ill, as in a heart attack, and despite your knowledge, have been unable to act or confused? I have. At that time, it was only by the proverbial "grace of god" or what I call "good luck" that certain someone did not die on me.

In retrospect, I only did not want it to go to trial as I know it will consume on the surface two more people and will most likely not result in change.

[chatpilot]

Points duly noted and not even worth discussing since I see that the discussion will end up nowhere. I have been in many medical emergency situations with friends and although I am not a trained professional I have helped. I don't know what it means to be frozen by fear it has never happened to me. I have been a martial artist for 27 years and am an expert at keeping calm, panic is not in my vocabulary. I have seen people shot,stabbed (and have been stabbed myself), and killed right in front of me. These paramedics were trained and certified and they should have helped. That ladies preexisting conditions were unknown to them and so in this case those conditions were as I stated earlier irrelevant. This is not an "emotional rant" as you state but rather a human response.

[Ashes1995]

those ignorant little..

they should have helped her! she was pregnent fgs! two lives were lost for the sake of what? coffee?! bah