Court dispute – could the death of a Styrian woman have been prevented?

Styrian Barbara A. (62) squatted on the couch in March 2020 and suffered from nausea, breathing difficulties and hearing loss. When her husband found her, he immediately alerted emergency services. However, the ambulance staff assumed she had a cold. Her husband repeatedly intervened to take the woman to hospital. But she was not taken away. When her condition drastically deteriorated, her relatives again called for help. This time she was admitted – and had to undergo emergency surgery! “I feel bad, I think I’m dying,” the then 62-year-old shouted into her loved one’s phone after the operation. Barbara A. turned out to be right. She died shortly afterwards.

Civil court confirms fatal mistake
The Graz Public Prosecutor’s Office subsequently began an investigation into the two Red Cross volunteers on suspicion of murder by gross negligence. But these were discontinued. The family, together with lawyer Karin Prutsch-Lang, eventually went to civil court to demand compensation. The family was recently proven right in the first instance. The reason: a doctor should have been called in to properly assess the emergency. Her death could therefore have been prevented. The Red Cross has appealed.

The son of the deceased sees what happened as an error in the system: “I worked full-time for the Red Cross. I don’t blame the two paramedics at all, it’s the system that doesn’t fit. They were two volunteers, normally there should always be someone there full-time.”