Oregon ambulance accident victim billed, seeks $997k damages
In the American state of Oregon, an ambulance hit a cyclist, and afterward, the emergency services billed the injured party for transportation to the hospital. The victim is seeking compensation.
7:33 AM EST, November 9, 2024
The tragic accident, as reported by the portal oregonlive.com, took place in October 2022. Seventy-one-year-old William Hoesch was riding a bicycle through Rainier in Columbia County, Oregon, when suddenly an ambulance returning from an intervention hit him.
According to police findings, the ambulance driver was traveling in the same direction as the cyclist and turned right at the intersection. As a result of the collision, the elderly man suffered facial injuries, among other things.
Paramedics from Columbia River Fire & Rescue did not call another team to the scene and instead transported the injured cyclist to the nearest hospital themselves. They then issued the man a bill amounting to $1,862 for the ambulance ride.
Now, as reported by media from across the ocean, the victim of the accident two years ago is seeking $997,000 in damages from the emergency services. A lawsuit has already been filed in court regarding this matter.
Columbia River Fire & Rescue declined to comment to local media. Meanwhile, the portal oregonlive.com reports that this is not the first accident in Oregon involving an ambulance.
A month ago, a lawsuit was filed against the station by the family of a 25-year-old who died in a car accident in January this year. The collision occurred when the ambulance was turning left at an intersection. In July, local police reported that an ambulance hit a car with a flat tire parked on the side of the road. The 55-year-old driver of the vehicle, who was standing next to it, died on the spot.
