Mary Ortega, As Surviving Spouse Of Armando Ortega, Sr. Et Al.v.David Coffey Et Al.
After a roadway collision killed Armando Ortega and injured his young son, Mary Ortega sued the county emergency medical service and the county road superintendent. She alleged that the emergency service failed to address the injuries properly and that the superintendent failed to inspect and maintain the roadway. The trial court granted summary judgment to both defendants on immunity grounds. The Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment for the superintendent but reversed as to the emergency service. The evidence supported official immunity for the superintendent’s conduct, but the emergency-service statute did not immunize charges that represented remuneration for emergency services. Mileage charges could be administrative costs, while the advanced-life-support charge reflected payment for the service itself. The court also rejected the view that the statute protected a provider’s failure to render emergency services rather than only the services it actually rendered. The case therefore returned for further proceedings against the emergency service.
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