Pregnant Woman Thrown from Ambulance Files Lawsuit

By Richard Seward

Published on May 29, 2007

The lawsuit, filed earlier this month by Darling Elie, now 20, names Collier County, Florida; the manufacturers of the ambulance and restraint system – Freightliner LLC, American LaFrance LLC, and DaimlerChrysler; and the vehicle’s driver – Bernice Forester – as defendants.

Elie claims that she suffered permanent injuries as a result of the crash. Reports indicate that her baby boy was delivered without injury.

Elie’s lawsuit cites negligence on the part of Forester and Collier County. In addition, the product liability claim against the vehicle’s manufacturers alleges that faulty design rendered the restraint system used to secure the stretcher defective.

An accident report filed by the Collier County Sheriff’s office details the crash, which occurred on a rain-covered and underlit Immokalee Road. According to the report, Forester drove through a large puddle, and the vehicle began to hydroplane. As she tried to correct the spin, the front tires slid onto the shoulder and skidded into soft ground, causing the ambulance to overturn and roll, throwing both Elie and a paramedic from the vehicle.

Elie is asking for compensation for suffering, disability, disfigurement, mental anguish, medical expenses, and loss of earnings sustained as a result of the crash.

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