Emergency Response Failure Leads To Loss Of Finger
A Mahopac man has lost his pinky finger and the proper use of his hand after suffering a devastating accident in July 2013. Anthony DelGuadio, 43, recently announced that he had filed a New York personal injury lawsuit to hold the responsible parties liable for his permanent disability. According to the lawsuit, an ambulance never arrived to treat him for his severed finger, despite repeated calls to 911 operators. As an alleged result, doctors were unable to reattach the severed digit.
Father of two suffers permanent disability
DelGuadio worked for Evergreen Mechanical, a company based in the Bronx. He was sent to a job at the Beekman Theater on Second Ave. and E. 66th to work on air conditioning units. However, he slipped and fell because of construction debris in the theater that hadn’t been cleaned up.
“The belts on the AC weren’t covered like they should be,” said DelGuadio. He braced himself for the fall by holding his hands out. Unfortunately, the uncovered belts severed his pinky finger.
Cops responding to the scene tried to assist DelGuadio by calling 911 operators multiple times. Just five minutes before DelGuadio’s request for an ambulance was called in, another individual had called 911 with an incident that also involved a finger injury. It has been reported that the 911 operators apparently confused the two incidents and assumed that an ambulance had been sent to DelGuadio.
After waiting for over 40 minutes for an ambulance that would never arrive, officers from the NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit took the injured plumber and his severed finger, preserved in ice, to New York Presbyterian Hospital. Unfortunately, the long wait cost DelGuadio his finger. Doctors were unable to reattach it. DelGuadio also suffers from additional severe injuries to two other fingers. The belt broke bones in his hand and inflicted nerve damage.
The father of two has worked as a plumber for 20 years. Since the accident, he has been unable to work and expects to be permanently unemployable. “I’m a plumber, how do I support my family? I can’t hold a tool, lift heavy pipes, pumps, toilets, tubs… I don’t have the strength to tie my shoes,” DelGuadio said in a statement to the NY Daily News.
Multiple defendants in lawsuit
The NY man filed his personal injury lawsuit against multiple parties. DelGuadio demands that the city’s 911 system be held liable for his permanent injuries, loss of income, and pain and suffering. His lawsuit also names the owner of the building as a defendant, as well as FDNY for failing to send the ambulance.
According to DelGuadio’s lawsuit, emergency responders were “reckless, careless and grossly negligent” for “failing to timely and adequately respond to the afore-mentioned 911 calls.”
A NY personal injury lawyer can help
If you or a loved one has suffered from injuries or losses as a result of medical negligence, you could be entitled to recover compensatory damages by filing a personal injury lawsuit in NY.
Compensation from a jury award or settlement can help cover your medical expenses, ongoing care needs, pharmaceutical costs, lost income, pain and suffering, and more. You can contact the NY personal injury attorneys at The Sanders Firm for a free case review to discuss your legal rights and options. With more than 45 years of experience litigating cases in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island, and Long Island, The Sanders Firm will fight to secure your rightful compensation. Call us toll-free at 1.888.711.2392. Resources
- NY Daily News, Plumber who lost his pinky while working at Upper East Side theater sues FDNY after ambulance never arrived, https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/plumber-lost-pinky-sues-ambulance-arrived-article-1.1514407
- New York Post, Plumber lost finger because of 911′s mistake: suit, https://nypost.com/2013/11/12/plumber-lost-finger-because-of-911s-mistake-suit/
