Oestreicher wins $1.5 million case against Ambulance Manufacturer
A federal court jury awarded a former New Orleans paramedic more than $1.5 million in damages this week for injuries he sustained while treating a gunshot victim in the back of an ambulance. The jury found the ambulance manufacturer, Medtec Ambulance Corp., knowingly designed a dangerous ambulance bench seat that caused paramedic Ryan Earls’ injuries in December 2010.
Earls, 26 at the time, was in the rear of the ambulance working on the patient when the truck hit a bump in the road. The faulty seat collapsed and Earls was sent sprawling, said his attorney, David Oestreicher. Earls wrenched his back, and he had to be removed from the ambulance at the hospital, Oestreicher said.
The jury’s award to Earls included $200,000 for his loss of future wages and benefits, $600,000 in medical expenses and $700,000 for his pain and suffering.
The five-day trial took place in U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle’s courtroom.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu formally recognized New Orleans Lawyer David W. Oestreicher for his contribution to the arts in the City of New Orleans with a proclamation and certificate of recognition issued on Sept. 20, 2013. Oestreicher long has been a proponent of the arts in New Orleans. He served for several years as President of…
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A judge has ordered Entergy New Orleans to pay nearly $470,000 to a woman who tripped over a piece of plywood that utility crews left in place over a section of sidewalk in the French Quarter, covering work to repair a gas line. Laura Garner injured her shoulder and arm in the accident, which occurred as she…
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After the 2004 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival lost money, there was talk of slashing the next year’s budget. But longtime Fest producer Quint Davis’ new partners at AEG Live advocated for the opposite strategy. They said you can’t cut your way out of this. “This” refers to financial straits Jazz Fest found itself in, and…
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