The federal district court for the Northern District of Illinois has refused to dismiss a case against paramedics and has ordered the case to proceed to trial based on a finding that there is enough evidence for the plaintiff to get a chance to present their case to a jury on the issue of whether the ambulance crew was guilty of Willful and Wanton Misconduct.

Under Illinois law, EMS personnel are immune from liability for simple negligence (malpractice), but can be held liable for conduct of a more dangerous nature, known in Illinois as Wilfull and Wanton Misconduct. Other states often refer to similar higher levels of wrong-doing as "gross negligence" or "reckless disregard" standards. Where the conduct is sufficiently reckless, it may become a criminal case for "criminal negligence."

The case arose from a situation where paramedics treated a womon for anaphylactic shock in the parking lot of an immediate care center. She died before reaching the hospital.

Paramedic documenation in the case allegedly fails to document compliance with the standard protocol for their system

Facts of the situation are in dispute, and this dispute is the reason the court ruled that the case must go to trial. Factual disputes are generally required to proceed to trial for jury determination.

The plaintiff's allegations include that the paramedics refused the immediate care physician's offer to intubate the patient, but failed in several attempts to intube the patient. The complaint also alleges that paramedics failed to follow protocols.

The plaintiff's theory of liability falls under Illinois definitions of Willful and Wanton Misconduct which include "a failure, after knowledge of impending danger, to exercise ordinary care to prevent it" or " a failure to discover a danger through recklessness or carelessness when it could have been discovered by the exercise of ordinary care." Prior cases have ruled that failure to follow standard operating procedures is sufficient to create an issue of whether Willful and Wanton Conduct was involved. Paramedic documenation in the case allegedly fails to document compliance with the standard protocol for their system.

Henslee v. Provena Hospitals, 2005 WL 11155196 (2005)