Columbus has agreed to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit for $1.2 million after two fire division paramedics failed to properly treat a woman in cardiac arrest, including spending time discussing the pot roast they had left cooking back at the firehouse.
The settlement is among the largest payouts in city history and comes after a nearly four-year court battle over the death of Sonia Bray.
Bray, the mother of a Columbus police officer, was 76 when she died in February of 2012.
A few days before her death, Columbus paramedics James Amick and James Hingst were dispatched to an MRI center on Bethel Road for a report of a woman in cardiac arrest. Bray was getting an MRI on her hip when she vomited. She complained of breathing problems and chest pains and was blue in the face, medical personnel at the facility told the paramedics.
But the paramedics did not treat Bray for nearly 25 minutes, according to court records and witness statements. At one point, one of the paramedics suggested that Bray’s son take her to the hospital in his personal vehicle, according to court records.