Legal Question in Personal Injury in Alabama

Hotel Refused To Call 911
My husband works out of town on a weekly basis and stays at various hotels. He is also a Type I diabetic on an insulin pump. Last night I tried to get in touch with him and after many, many attempts, he finally answered his hotel phone. I could tell right away he was in a diabetic reaction. Being as he was out of town, I called the front desk and told them the situation and told them he was talking but they needed to call 911 to his room. I told them I would call back in 15 min to talk with the paramedic to check on him and let them know about his insulin pump. 15 min later I called back and the hotel operator said that his supervisor told him he could not call 911 for me. He said they had called the room and he said he was fine. I told them even though he was talking, I knew when he was not fine. They said there was nothing they could do. I had to call 911 from my home and it took the operator 15 min to get me in touch the 911 in the city he was in. When the paramedic talked to me they said his blood sugar wasn't even registering on the meter - meaning it was below 25 (normal is 80-120). I called them back and I explained to him if the paramedics hadn't have been called he would have died. Is there any recourse?

Asked on 11/16/04, 5:30 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Sterling DeRamus Sterling L. DeRamus, Attorney at Law

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Re: Hotel Refused To Call 911

There have been cases against such entities for refusal to provide help when needed and when obviously necessary. I'm not sure if there has been one in the specific situation you have found yourself in. However, an airline was recently found liable for refusing to move a passenger who was allergic to smoke to a non-smoking section (first class, I think). The passenger then had a heart attack and died. The courts didn't care for the Airline's defense and the jury didn't either. This was a recent case and probably is now on appeal. Nevertheless, I do believe that a hotel may have some liability in this situation. Unfortunately, did your husband have any damage as a result of their negligence, as opposed to damage for merely having suffered a diabetic attack? If your husband had died, your case would probably be a lot stronger (small comfort though that is). If your husband's health has been impaired by the delay in his getting medical care you would have to prove that, and I would check with your physician first before proceeding to see if that is the case. Also, I believe that this case would probably have to be brought in the other city where your husband was. If it is in Alabama it may not make much difference, but if it is in another state, there may be a big question of where to file this action if there is one. Let me know privately where this happened, and I have a network of attorneys nationwide that I can send this to.

Sterling L. DeRamus

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Answered on 11/18/04, 6:00 pm

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