Ever Drop a Patient?

MMiz

MMiz

I put the M in EMTLife
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I've never actually dropped a patient, but I've heard many stories of medics that have. It usually involves a balance problem with the stretcher / stair chair.

One medic hit a bit pothole in the ground with a patient on the stretcher, and the stretcher overturned. Thankfully no one has been dropped down the stairs, but there have been some close calls.

Anyone have any good stories?
 
I know EMTs injured because one person could not handle the weight.

I am working out now to prevent either person from being me.
 
Right when I first started workin in EMS. It was an early sunday morning and I was transporting a male pt in his like 80's for possible cardiac problems.....Well my partener was pulling the cot out and the under carriage didnt lock.....i tried to catch it and the cot went to the ground and i ended up under it. If he wasnt having a heart attack before he was then. I got out with some NICE bruises.... He remained securly on the cot....on top of me. Lucky no one saw us.
 
In 1993, during a game against the New York Rangers, Dallas Stars player Mike Modano took a clip from Mark Messier on ice. He was taken off ice with spinal immobilization precautions taken. MSG had a camera follow the EMTs with the stretcher off-ice to the ambulance where they attempted to load him into the rig but managed to drop him to the floor...all on live tv. Our course coordinator showed us the video of the drop multiple times during class, and I'm still trying to find it. As soon as I can, I will post a link here...but until then, here's another one.

Soccer Player Dropped!
 
Dropped a Rabbi.

This was in 1980s, we had just gotten one of those new fangled stretchers like the ME was using. My partner didn't wait for me to lock the legs down as he pulled it out of the ambulance. The Rabbi stayed secure on the stretcher. No injuries. No blessings either.
 
I have a little theory: if you haven't dropped a patient, you either haven't been in the field long enough or you're just a liar. And before anyone flames me, don't take that comment too seriously ;)

It used to happen a little more often before the "one & a half man" stretchers became standard. Uhm... I mean it never happened... ever. ;)

Back during my first year, I was dropping off a patient at a nursing home. My partner must have slipped or whatever the case was... but as we pulled the stretcher out of the ambulance, it just landed sideways. To make things worse, the entire front of the nursing home was clear glass and the lobby was packed with people including about 10 administrators.

The patient was strapped in good, never hit his head, had no injuries whatsoever, and laughed harder than I heard anyone laugh before. Somehow, not one person in the lobby saw a thing. The patient was just like, "I'm ok, that was kind of fun actually!".
 
I think its great when people can laugh at their mistakes, it even better when the patient can too :D...I havn't ever helped with a patient (duh because I'm just a rider) but they have let me put the stretcher in the back after we reloaded and I alsmost droped it then so...I think I need more practice :D lol
 
All I can say is this...if they do fall, DO NOT try to catch them!

Egg
 
eggshen said:
All I can say is this...if they do fall, DO NOT try to catch them!

Egg
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I know two paramedics who can no longer work the road because of trying to save a patient/cot from falling.
 
VentMedic said:
Dropped a Rabbi.

This was in 1980s, we had just gotten one of those new fangled stretchers like the ME was using. My partner didn't wait for me to lock the legs down as he pulled it out of the ambulance. The Rabbi stayed secure on the stretcher. No injuries. No blessings either.
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Oy Veh!!:P
 
It was during an MCI drill with multiple agencies. Partner and I working an unfamiliar rig (yeah.. I know.. excuses, excuses) We had a high school girl on the stretcher who was one of the volunteer, fake victims. We pulled the gurney out of the rig and the landing gear didn't lock. The minute all four wheels cleared the rig.. Wham... the cot drops to the ground. Luckily the 'pt' was c-spined and backboarded and didn't get hurt. Just surprised us all.
 
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I still have a hard time trusting myself and the cot to lock when I pull it out. My regular partner and I would be careful to check to make sure it locked, but there have been a few close calls when I'm working with new people.
 
MMiz said:
I still have a hard time trusting myself and the cot to lock when I pull it out. My regular partner and I would be careful to check to make sure it locked, but there have been a few close calls when I'm working with new people.
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Good idea. The first "one and a half man" stretchers didn't even have locks!
 
Sure did...

The patient was highly intoxicated and probably didn't even notice.

Slid the head of the gurney into the ambulance... it didn't "catch"... so as I was lifting, releasing the undercarriage, and pulling out the gurney slightly to allow the wheels to clear the rear bumper, the gurney came all the way out and crashed down, landing on the rear bumper.

That was the only time... and it was 16 years ago... but it happened, and I remember it well.
 
While working at a past private service, I was working with a CPR driver; gotta love west virginia, still requiring just an emt and cpr driver; he pulled the cot out faster than the catch could catch at the end of the truck. He has squeezed the handle and the cot ended up on the tailboard. The patient ended up laughing, but it was still scary trip for both of us. That partner did it two other times that day, It was his first time working as a CPR driver, after that, I wouldnt let him anywhere near the head of the cot. I had problems with him anyway, and after that I really didnt trust him. I wont go into the reason why, but I will say this much, he put a squad up on two wheels while responding hot, for a bs call. I threatened to quit after that day, and I never had to work with him again.
 
emt9577 said:
While working at a past private service, I was working with a CPR driver; gotta love west virginia, still requiring just an emt and cpr driver; he pulled the cot out faster than the catch could catch at the end of the truck. He has squeezed the handle and the cot ended up on the tailboard. The patient ended up laughing, but it was still scary trip for both of us. That partner did it two other times that day, It was his first time working as a CPR driver, after that, I wouldnt let him anywhere near the head of the cot. I had problems with him anyway, and after that I really didnt trust him. I wont go into the reason why, but I will say this much, he put a squad up on two wheels while responding hot, for a bs call. I threatened to quit after that day, and I never had to work with him again.
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I'm sorry to hear your terrible story. I hope you have had more positive experiences.


Hmmmm... my #2 needs to be held to the highest standard theory stands up.

RedZone said:
Day one of my EMT class:

The #1 person when I'm at work is myself.

The #2 person at work is my partner(s).

The #3 person at work is my patient.

That is one rule I have yet to break, and I've broken many.
I hope you had the same lecture your first day. Don't take that advice lightly. NEVER put a patient before you. I'll also add: #3 always stays at work. #2 has to have high standards, at all costs.
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eggshen said:
All I can say is this...if they do fall, DO NOT try to catch them!

Egg
Click to expand...
Amen.

I had an EMT student who said he knew how to work the strecher... he pulled it out of the rig crooked and missed the catch... it somewhat caught on the bottom of the doorway. My hand was on the undercarriage, ready to lower the wheels... My shoulder took a lot of force when my arm was suddenly holding weight I wasn't expecting to hold. On top of that, because I was holding one side up, the other side tipped down.

My idiot partner was on the other side of the strecher and he then tried to grab the strdcher. Eventually we got the undercarriage down - the head of the strecher was on the back bumper.

NOW, I NEVER let a student or attendant workt he strecher until I've seem them do it, and usually until; I've helped them do it a few times.
 
was doing a mock disaster where we had to get a hypothermic pt. up some stairs, and due to limited resources, ended up doing a blanket carry. Since I had taken charge of the pt., I was at the head. One of the people I had helping spoke limited english, and didn't understand the lifting commands, so was a bit delayed. On the way up the stairs, one of the people holding near the thigh let go momentarily to take off their gloves, and the pt almost fell down the stares. Luckily, we were able to compensate for that person letting go (without warning *rolls eyes*), and pt just was a bit frightened (but atleast not smeared down the stairs :P).
 
In Florida typical sticky sweaty day and I was at the head of a collapsable stretcher (not gurney), going down a set of steep concrete stairs. At one of the right-angle landings, my hands were slipping on the aluminum frame as I came up to the edge of the new set of steps.

My partner was already halfway down that set of steps when I knew I was losing it and told him to stop. Just at the time I began bending over to get closer to the ground if I did slip (which by now was inevitable!) my partner raised the foot of the stretcher up so the patient was roughtly parallel to the ground, the head of the stretcher about one foot above the landing.

Sure enough the stretcher slipped out of my hands, the aluminum frame dropped the one foot, its top hitting the edge of the step (just missing the patient's head, who was a short guy!), the whole stretcher flexed and rebounded and sprung up (It seemed like it bounced higher than from the height I dropped it!), I grabbed it mid-flight and, finding I had a good grip now, said, "Okay!" and we got him down the last flight to the rig.
 
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