Qwest and Polk County, Ia., agreed to a $50,000 settlement of a 9...
Qwest and Polk County, Ia., agreed to a $50,000 settlement of a 911 lawsuit brought by the family of an Ankeny, Ia., man, Scott Mein, who died in 2003 of a heart attack after paramedics mistakenly were sent to…
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the wrong address. Qwest and the county will each contribute $25,000. The county argued in court last year that state law protected 911 dispatchers from liability when mistakes don’t constitute willful neglect. And Qwest argued on the same basis that federal law exempted it from liability even though its 911 database supplied the erroneous information. The error caused a response delay of about 8 min. All parties decided to settle rather than fight over unclear liability. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said it later revised its dispatching policies to minimize chances of another mistake.