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St. E’s, copter service sued
Lawsuit alleges wrongful death
staff report
YOUNGSTOWN — The estate of an elderly woman has sued St. Elizabeth Health Center and a Pittsburgh-based helicopter operator, saying the woman fell and was injured when she was hit by the downdraft from the helicopter approaching the hospital’s landing area.
The wrongful-death suit was filed by Robert O. Whitmore of New Waterford, administrator of the estate of his mother, Ella Mae Whitmore, who died this year at age 89.
The lawsuit, which demands a jury trial and more than $25,000 in damages, was filed earlier this week in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court by attorneys Ilan Wexler and Raymond J. Tisone.
Listed as defendants are St. Elizabeth, the life-flight helicopter operation of Allegheny General Hospital, and an unidentified helicopter pilot, listed as John Doe.
The lawsuit alleges negligence by the helicopter pilot and St. Elizabeth, and it says St. Elizabeth posted no guards at its emergency-room door and issued no warnings about the dangers of approaching helicopters.
Ella Mae Whitmore, a visitor to the hospital June 11, 2007, fell as she left the building and headed for a parking lot, according to the lawsuit.
The suit alleges that the downdraft from the helicopter cased Whitmore to fall, and Wexler said he believes the injuries she suffered in the fall contributed to her death.
A St. Elizabeth spokeswoman declined to comment Wednesday, and an Allegheny General spokesman did not respond to a request to comment.
The case is assigned to Judge Lou A. D’Apolito.
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Comments
so much for resting in peace. dewey, cheatem, & howe at it again. someone please explain that if you feel a lawsuit is necessary why only ask for $25k..you only value granny @ $22,500. The other $2250 are for the atty's. what...her chocolate chips were no good? Get a life...all of you
Oh so she had no idea that helicopters create wind? This is an attempt by her family to cash in on her death, thats all. So what if it had been a windy day and there was a strong gust of wind from an approaching cold front? Would sonny boy attempt to sue God then? Accidents happen, but cashing in on them is wrong.
Anything to make a buck. The woman lived to be 89 -- what more do you want?
put me on that jury, the family gets zip! Granny lived to the ripe old age 89. As the Eagles song says, GET OVER IT!
i would also file claim. This woman did not deserve to die a tragic death being blown over and in pain. Regardless of age, no one deserves to die walking out of a hospital in a non restricted area. I lost my granny at the age of 99. She went peacefully in her sleep. Sadly, this family can't say the same.
The hosptal has an obligation to take public safety seriously.
I commend the family for not being greedy and seeking $100,000+ it seems they may ccover her medical bills, funeral, cemetary and legal fees and pocket nothing at all.
So dissappointed in all the comments above mine. This family suffered a tragic loss and have a right to go to bat with the hospital so no other family suffers a similar loss.
Has anyone seen my brown sock?
Hey "Reader"..READ the article "Wexler said he believes the injuries she suffered in the fall contributed to her death.
He "believes" the injuries "contributed to" not caused it.
I believe in alot of things, profit & greed isn't one them.
Why does the Vindy resort to "sensationalism" to sell papers. Several times they print medical malpractice/wrongful death articles that are filed in court; however NEVER do I see any follow up articles once the suits are dropped for unfounded evidence. Why is that? Because those articles would not sell papers.
St. E's should post warning signs and activate a strobe along with an alarm when a copter is ready to land. The patients at St. E's ultimately pay for any lawsuits throught the rates for services.
I have not seen the area where the incident occurred, however, I would agree a warning sign should be placed if it isn't already there. BUT..since when is an individual not responsible for their own actions. The article indicates she was heading toward the parking lot, 2 things. Was she escorted by someone, if so, are you saying two people missed a large object in the sky, making loud noises, and approaching them? Or was she alone heading to car, if so, at 89 and not being able to detect a helicopter approaching..should she really be allowed to drive.. Wake up
So if she would have instead fallen at home on accident, would the estate have sued her or whoever else was the homeowner?
Many elderly are visually and hearing impaired.
St. Elizabeths has a responsiblility, A DUTY to make sure that everyone is safe when a helicopter is landing or taking off. I actually think that there should be a very specific protocal. Maybe the family tried to have the matter resolved and were not satisfied. To demand a public trial and very little money, maybe this a message to the community that SAFETY should be first and the principal is what is more important than the amount of money.
She died this year (2009) at age 89. The incident happened on June 11, 2007.
Even assuming she died on 1/1/2009, that's 1.5 years after the fact, for a person that was 89 - well above the 76-81 year life expectancy range cited by WebMD in 2005.
I've seen St E's helicopter pad, although I've never been near it when a helicopter was present, arriving or departing. Even if the helicopter was at fault for her injury, citing wrongful death in this case should be dismissed.
For those of you concerned about the amount of damages requested, the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure state the following:
If the party seeks more than twenty-five thousand dollars, the party shall so state in the pleading but shall not specify in the demand for judgment the amount of recovery sought.
What this means is that if they are asking for an amount in EXCESS of $25,000.00 they can't specifically state the amount requested.
Northside, good observation. It is very common for 80-something year olds to accidentally fall. How many other times within that time did this woman probably fall?
It's sad that the woman passed away, but come on. This is just greed. Let the woman rest in peace.
I've been at St. E's when a helicopter lands there. They post Police Officers at the doors and landing zone to keep everyone away. I would liken it to trying to access a military airstrip, nearly impossible! Further, that helicopter transport service flies out of Pittsburgh, and is not affiliated with St. E's. It's operated by a private company just like any ground ambulance, taking someone to the closest appropriate hospital, based on the severity of their injuries. If this lady was outside, and did not hear this thing coming out of the sky, she must have bean legally deaf. They sound like a frieght train, even when they are still 50 feet up. And, if she was deaf, why was she going to the parking lot, she should not have been driving. Did the hospital know the helicopter was landing? Did the pilot call-in? I'm not trying to shift blame, but you and I do not know enough of the facts to form an opinion on this matter.
To save a life an accidental death occured, an accident on the woman's part, to heck with it, get rid of hospitals all together and let the life expectancy go back to 30! Sue the place that is trying to save you, morons, just die!!!!!!!
ElPollo, that is pretty ironic.
All commenting on granny. Go to St.E's helo pad and wait until one comes along. Then stand near it as it lands. I dont care if your Hulk Hogan it will know you off balance. Warnings, signs lights and a guard should be posted when a helo is landing. It makes sense folks.
JD010101....extremely loud noise above my head, winds picking up out of know where, I look up to see a large above coming at me, I brace myself and move away from the offending area, I am not an idiot, apparently you are!
I wonder why an obviously frail 89 year old woman was leaving the hospital alone? And if she was not alone, why didn't the person with her support her and move her to a safer place?
I also believe St. E's posts guards when flights are arriving and leaving. I can't believe there would not be certain protocols that would address this.
I do feel for the family, but remember there was someone else's loved one being flown in to save his/her life. I hate to see more restrictions added that may result in adding precious minutes where time is of the essence, just to avoid these kinds of lawsuits.
first all, the family is suing for MORE THAN $25,000, secondly...CHAD check your butt crack lol...St. E's does have security posted at the front desk of the ER deterring people from leaving. there could have been an incident where serurity was not present tho. Security also won't left cars or pedestrians into the parking deck till the copter is shut off. As i was states before, 89 and driving?? she had to have been profoundly deaf not the hear the bird. You feel the ungawdly wind as soon as you leave the doors so i wonder how far she got to the parking lot...if she was leaving the ER alone where was her so concerned son?? Was she a discharged patient??. God bless her itty bitty soul
ehhh, sonny. What is that extremely loud noise and where did all of this wind come from. Must be storming. I will just walk by this police officer blocking off the parking lot and smack right into this whirly brid thinga ma jimmy that is no where near where I parked. Maybe they can tell me where I parked my car