A Limestone County jury awarded $15 million to the family of a man, Robert Owen, who died following a heart attack while under the care of Huntsville Emergency Medical Services, Inc. (HEMSI) in 2019. The highest verdict amount in the county’s history concludes a protracted legal battle.
The lawsuit, filed by Owen’s widow alleged gross negligence on the part of HEMSI ambulance driver Jacob Steele and paramedic Charles Hui.
Robert Owen, 81, was being transported from Huntsville Hospital to UAB Medical Center for cardiac evaluation in April 2019. During the transport, Steele was seen on video passing out, swerving, and repeatedly leaving his lane. After missing a turn to Birmingham, Steele swapped driving duties with Hui, following approval from HEMSI supervisors. Instead of continuing his paramedic duties, Steele put on earbuds, played music, and fell asleep with his feet propped up on Owen’s stretcher.
According to the family’s attorneys, Owen was deprived of necessary paramedic care, which is mandated by internal policies, state regulations, and EMS protocols. When Owen called for help during his heart attack, he was ignored because Steele was unconscious. Hui, who checked on Owen briefly, continued driving for the remaining 40 minutes to Birmingham.
Owen died at UAB eleven days later due to the heart attack. A full video of the conduct found negligent by jurors was considered during the trial:
During the trial, Owen’s family was represented by attorneys David Marsh, Rip Andrews, Ben Ford, and Ty Brown from the law firm Marsh, Rickard & Bryan.
The trial uncovered disturbing details about Steele’s history with HEMSI. Steele had a known history of drug use and was reportedly under the influence during Owen’s transport. Despite multiple warnings and even a previous termination, HEMSI management failed to conduct a drug test on Steele and allowed him to continue driving. It was also revealed that HEMSI had received reports of Steele being impaired on the day of the incident but took no action to prevent him from operating the ambulance.
In addition to video, dispatch audio from the driver who fell asleep was also considered by jurors:
Attorneys say they demonstrated that HEMSI attempted to cover up Steele’s misconduct and failed to report his behavior as required by state law, going as far as deleting videos of his prior conduct. This cover-up extended to the events surrounding Owen’s transport.
After the ruling, HEMSI provided a statement to WHNT News 19, saying, “It was a tragic loss of life. Our greatest desire is to safely serve the citizens who depend on us. When we fail to do this, it impacts many people, including those we serve and those on our HEMSI team. We will continue to learn from every situation and strive to better serve our community.”
According to family attorneys, HEMSI’s defense argued that Owen’s age and pre-existing heart condition meant he was likely to die regardless of their actions.
“One of the reasons we chose to be involved in this case and work so hard on it, and I think on of the reasons the jury returned such a significant verdict is Robert Owen’s family could not have been a better, more wonderful group of people,” attorney Rip Andrews said.
“They chose to try this case. Because it was the justice they were after. It’s hard to explain, but it’s that validation that they are after, to hear their community members say, ‘Your Dad, your husband, was done wrong. And we see you and we hear you and we want to do something about that,’” Andrews said.
Grayson Everett is the state and political editor for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @Grayson270
