‘Human Error’ Leads to Death

Hernando County (Fla.) Sheriff’s officials admit that a dispatcher’s error led to a delay when responding to a medical emergency, and the victim later died. Comm center manager Bill Kicklighter said sheriff’s dispatcher John Ellis mistakenly entered the incident in CAD for the county’s fire-rescue agency, when it should have been entered for the Spring Hill Fire-Rescue. Radio dispatcher Paul George saw the mis-directed incident on his CAD screen, and yelled at Ellis to re-direct the call. But Ellis was still on the phone with the 911 caller and never heard George’s remark. George cancelled his incident, believing Ellis would re-enter it for the proper agency. The caller waited 13 minutes for an ambulance, and then drove the victim to a medical facility, where he later died. Read the full story here.