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Norman Perlberger, Esquire of Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis LLP wins $464,037 Federal Jury Verdict
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
$464,037 Verdict on the Basis of Gender Discrimination for Female Paramedic Fired by the City's Fire Department
On March 13, 2003, Dawn Garrow and her partner, Brian Findlay, both paramedics for the Philadelphia Fire Department responded to a 911 call for an attempted suicide-drug overdose by a 22-year old man in NE Philadelphia. After he had gotten into the back of the ambulance and obviously dying, having previously refused to divulge what he had taken, The young man admitted to Ms. Garrow that he had taken what turned out to be a lethal dose of verapamil. He died approximately an hour after arriving at Nazareth Hospital. Members of his household complained about the paramedics and, after investigation, Ms. Garrow was forced to resign in the face of the Medical Director, Dr. Mechem's determination that he would pull his medical command for breaking certain departmental protocols, which would have made it impossible for her to be a paramedic anywhere in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Her partner was given a brief suspension, but was permitted to return to his duties and is still employed by the Department as a paramedic. Because Findlay's discipline was similar to dozens of male paramedics believed to have allegedly committed equal or greater errors in patient care, including cases involving the death of patients, Ms. Garrow, after getting a right to sue letter from the PHRC, filed suit in federal court. The case was tried before the Honorable Curtis Joyner and a jury over a five-day period last week, resulting in a verdict late Friday afternoon, November 2, 2007, in favor of Ms.Garrow in the amount of $249,037 in back pay and $215,000 in front pay, for a total of $464,037.
