Family suing AMR in connection with death of North Jackson man

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - The family of a North Jackson man who died last year after waiting for more than an hour for an ambulance to arrive for help claims he wouldn’t have died had AMR allowed EMTs with another provider to respond in its stead.

In August, the son and estate of James “Diamond Jim” Mabus filed a wrongful death suit against AMR, its operations manager, and an unnamed dispatcher, claiming that the company’s delayed response, coupled with its failure to allow another company to respond to Mabus’ calls, led to his untimely death.

[READ: ‘Beyond belief’: Jackson woman says ex-husband died after waiting 90 minutes for ambulance]

The case was initially filed in Hinds County Circuit Court but has since been moved to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.

According to the nine-page filing, it took AMR more than an hour to respond after Mabus’ ex-wife called for help. Meanwhile, the suit alleges AMR refused to allow an ambulance from Pafford to respond, despite that company’s ambulance being on standby only a few miles away.

“As a direct and proximate result of the failure of each defendant... James T. Mabus Jr. was seriously injured and suffered a wrongful and untimely death on May 4, 2023.”

AMR and Operations Manager Ryan Wilson deny the allegations, and say all “claimed losses, injuries, and damages may be the result of a superseding, intervening cause for [the] defendant can have no liability.”

Court records state Donna Echols arrived at her North Jackson home at approximately 9 p.m. on April 27, to find her ex-husband flailing on her living room floor, having suffered a stroke.

Echols had been out of town and Mabus was caring for her pets. Echols called 9-1-1 around 9:15. That call was transferred to AMR dispatchers around 9:17. An ambulance was not dispatched until 10:12.

According to the suit, AMR dispatchers failed to classify Echol’s emergency as a “Priority One” call, which could have led to earlier treatment. When medics arrived around 10:24, they “noted that Mr. Mabus was having paralysis on his left side and possible stroke systems.”

Priority One calls are those that involve a “manifest or imminent life-, limb-, or function-threatening condition,” according to AMR’s contract with Hinds County.

EMTs began administering treatment at 10:26. Mabus was transported to St. Dominic’s Hospital, where he died in the Intensive Care Unit on May 4.

The suit alleges Echols made five phone calls to emergency officials between 9:15 and the time an ambulance arrived. She also pleaded with AMR to allow another ambulance company to respond.

“Specifically, at the time in issue, an ambulance operated by Pafford EMS was located within 10 minutes of Mr. Mabus and could have responded... However, AMR’s negligence and/or gross negligence and refusal to implement a mutual aid or other assistance agreement prevented the Pafford ambulance from [doing so],” the suit states.

AMR Operations Manager Ryan Wilson is being accused of failing to maintain sufficient staffing levels, failing to obtain a sufficient number of ambulances to respond to Priority One calls, and failing to appropriately staff shifts so that enough ambulances were available to respond to Priority One incidents.

AMR is the sole provider of ambulance services in Jackson and Hinds County. The company’s current contract with the county does not allow other ambulance providers to respond to calls in the area without “explicit prior approval from AMR as EMS lead agency.”

Following our previous reporting, lawmakers approved legislation requiring companies with exclusive service contracts to include “mutual aid” clauses, which would allow other firms to respond in certain situations.

Gov. Tate Reeves signed the measure into law in April. The measure will affect all new service contracts, as well as any existing contracts when they’re renewed.

That same contract also requires AMR to respond to Priority One calls within eight minutes in the city of Jackson.

The family also claims the company’s failure to meet that time regarding his father’s stroke within that time also constitutes a breach of contract.

“Mr. Mabus was an intended third-party beneficiary of the contract between AMR and Hinds County... AMR breached this contract by failing to respond to Mr. Mabus in a timely fashion in said contract, and therefore, the plaintiffs are entitled to all damages arising from [the] defendant’s breach.”

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