New York Man Sues City After EMS Workers Throw Out His Ear

Eduardo Garcia has filed a lawsuit against Montefiore Medical Center after emergency service workers threw a chunk of his ear in the garbage after it was ripped off by a dog. Mr. Garcia’s lawyer said, “Now, he’s got a deformity. They deprived him of an opportunity to have treatment.”

A dog belonging to Mr. Garcia’s son bit off a large piece of his upper ear on May 10, 2008. According to the lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court, Bronx County, EMS workers placed the piece of his ear on ice in the ambulance, but when the ambulance arrived at the medical center, an EMS worker threw the ear in the trash.

According to hospital records, the ear was thrown out because of the potential risk of an infection if it was reattached. According to his medical malpractice lawyer in New York, Mr. Garcia should be able to have the option of reattaching his ear. Instead, he was stuck with 22 stitches, two staples, and a piece of his ear was missing. The city cross claimed against Montefiore Medical Center. It alleges that EMS workers were only following hospital orders when they threw the piece of his ear in the trash.