PHOENIX — A widower has filed a lawsuit alleging Phoenix firefighters failed to perform medical tests and refused to bring an ambulance for his wife who died.
Bruce Sandberg filed the gross negligence lawsuit against the City of Phoenix in December, shortly before the one-year anniversary of his wife's death.
Francesca Sandberg, 53, died on December 31, 2021. After she had been sick with COVID-19, she suddenly experienced heart palpitations and shortness of breath that morning.
Her husband called 911 asking for an ambulance.
"Her lips were turning blue," Bruce Sandberg told ABC15 in June. "It was obvious to me that she was in dire straits."
According to Sandberg's lawsuit, the Phoenix firefighters arrived in a fire truck and did not "perform an EKG or other testing warranted," "refused to call for an ambulance" and encouraged him "to transport his wife to a hospital by private vehicle."
"The last thing she said to me was, 'Are we there yet? Honey? Are we there yet?'" Sandberg said.
Francesca died minutes later.
The Phoenix Fire Department did an internal investigation but would not say whether the firefighters were disciplined.
Department policy mandates they transport anyone who requests an ambulance and they do not deny service to anyone. The Phoenix Fire Department doesn't comment on pending litigation.
"For her to pass away this way, without any kind of assistance to try to survive, to me, is just is horrendous," Sandberg said. "I think these guys should be held accountable for that."
After the ABC15 investigators aired stories about other Phoenicians who believe they also were denied ambulances during medical emergencies, an assistant fire chief said the department wants to hear from anyone who has ambulance complaints, so they can find and fix issues.
Contact ABC15 investigator Melissa with news tips at Melissa.Blasius@abc15.com or 602-685-6362. You can also connect on Twitter and Facebook.
