Sena v. American Medical Response of Connecticut, Inc.

Citations

• 333 Conn. 30

Syllabus

Pursuant to statute (§ 28-13 [a]), ''[n]either the state nor any political subdivi- sion of the state . . . complying with or attempting to comply with [civil preparedness statutes] or any order or regulation promulgated pursuant to [those statutes] . . . shall be liable for the death of or injury to persons . . . as a result of any such activity.'' The plaintiff, both individually and as administratrix of the estate of the decedent, T, sought to recover damages from, among others, the defen- dant city alleging, inter alia, that the city was negligent in responding to a medical emergency involving T. Specifically, the plaintiff alleged that the city had improperly failed to dispatch a fire truck with an emergency medical technician in response to T's emergency call and 333 Conn. 30 SEPTEMBER, 2019 31 Sena v. American Medical Response of Connecticut, Inc. had impeded prompt arrival of an ambulance by allowing snow to remain in certain public roadways following a statewide winter snowstorm. Before the storm began, the city's mayor declared a state of emergency and activated the local emergency operations center. Shortly thereafter, the governor declared a statewide civil preparedness emergency pursu- ant to statute (§ 28-9). Snowfall during the storm was so significant that both city and state roads were temporarily closed to the public, and plowing and ambulance service were temporarily suspended. After the storm, clearing roads proved unusually difficult, and the city requested that the state summon the assistance of the National Guard, which arrived the following day. Two days after the storm concluded, only certain roads were open to emergency vehicles and several hundred secondary roads, including the road on which T lived, remained impass- able. On that day, T called 911 complaining of severe breathing difficulty. An ambulance arrived approximately twenty minutes later and subse- quently transported T to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Three days aft