$3.1 Million Verdict in Fatal Crash with Ambulance That Ran Red Light Upheld on Appeal

A case involving a fatal T-bone collision between a passenger car and an ambulance that was operating on a non-emergency basis resulted in a $3.1 million verdict that was upheld on appeal. Attorneys Harvey B. Morris, Joe A. King, Jr., and Joseph D. Aiello from Morris, King & Hodge, P.C., represented the surviving father of the young woman who tragically lost her life in the crash.

The side-impact accident occurred at the intersection of U.S. Highway 231 and West Limestone Road in Madison County when an ambulance operated by the defendant ran a red light at a high rate of speed and broadsided the compact car driven by the decedent. The ambulance was transporting a stable patient on a non-emergency basis. The ambulance’s emergency lights, siren, and horn were not activated.

Evidence showed that the ambulance was going 81 mph in a 60-mph zone just before the driver applied the brakes. Evidence also showed that the ambulance had a red light, while the car had the right of way on a green light.

The force of the 11,000-pound ambulance’s impact on the Dodge Neon sedan driven by Dianna Bowden caused her to sustain fatal injuries. Ms. Bowden was a teenager at the time of the deadly crash.

The ambulance driver was Charles Eakes, an employee of Lincoln County Health System d/b/a Lincoln Medical Center, based in Tennessee. Lincoln County Health System’s policy allowed an ambulance to exceed the posted speed limit by up to 10 mph, but only on emergency runs. Mr. Eakes testified that he believed it was permissible to exceed the speed limit by 15 mph “for the comfort of the patient” on a non-emergency run. He testified that “just because you do over the speed limit doesn’t necessarily mean that somebody’s going to get hurt.”

When Mr. Eakes was asked whether the fatal crash had prompted him to reassess his opinion on speeding during non-emergency runs, he said “no” because “there’s events in anything you do.”

Kurt Bowden, the father of the decedent Dianna Bowden, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court against the Tennessee-based Lincoln County Health System and Mr. Eakes. After a trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, the jury awarded Mr. Bowden $3.1 million. The case was Kurt Bowden v. Lincoln County Health System, a corporation, d/b/a Lincoln Medical Center and Lincoln Medical Center EMS, et al., Case No. 5-05-cv-02503-CLS.

The defendants appealed the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which affirmed the $3.1 million verdict following oral arguments.