Family of man who climbed from ambulance, died, awarded $7M

CHICAGO (AP) - A jury has awarded $7 million to the family of a south suburban Chicago man who died in 2014 after he climbed from a moving ambulance.

Patrick Stein’s family sued the ambulance service and St. James Olympia Fields Hospital’s operators in 2015, alleging that the two paramedics who transported Stein weren’t told he was a psychiatric patient.

Family attorney Michael Bonamarte tells The Daily Southtown that a Cook County jury found both defendants liable last week.

Stein was hospitalized at St. James in July 2014 after being found with a butcher knife outside his daughter’s home.

Medical staff recommended the Matteson man be transferred to a Veterans Affairs hospital after diagnosing him with mental health issues.

Stein unbuckled his gurney’s straps and climbed from the moving ambulance during that ride.

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Information from: Southtown Star, http://southtownstar.chicagotribune.com/