Los Angeles County settles lawsuit with 11-year old Ashley Flores’ family
Almost a year and half after several misrouted 9-1-1 calls caused a delay in paramedic response, Los Angeles County (California) settled a lawsuit with the family of Ashley Flores in the amount of $3 million dollars.
On Christmas Eve 2017, Ashley Flores, who suffered from asthma experienced difficulty breathing. Repeated attempts to contact paramedics resulted in the family’s 9-1-1 calls being misrouted to an empty fire station. According to the investigation, the 9-1-1 calls should have been routed to a fire dispatcher so that the closest ambulance could be contacted to respond.
Related Story: 9-1-1 Snafu In Girl’s Asthma Death Costs County $3M
The investigation revealed that an untrained Sheriff’s deputy had incorrectly routed 5 of the family’s 9-1-1 calls to the empty fire station. The misroutes caused a 15-minute delay before the family were able to successfully make contact with someone that could help. A hospital representative that was interviewed at the time believed that Ashley could have survived if she had received medical assistance earlier.
The family filed the lawsuit against the County in hopes to better understand how this tragedy occurred and prevent future occurrences for other families. However, no information has been provided as to any corrective actions the County has taken internally.
Related Links:
Misrouted 911 Call Led to Lynwood Girl’s Death, Complaint Against L.A. County Claims
Family Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over 11-Year-Old Who Had Asthma Attack on Christmas Eve
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