A $3 million wrongful death lawsuit accuses a 9-1-1 Spanish-language interpreter of botching the translation of an address and sending an ambulance to the wrong location as a 25-year-old woman was gasping for air.
A total of 26 minutes ticked by as medics raced around searching for the woman in distress, received the correct address and arrived to find Elidiana Valdez-Lemus unconscious from cardiac arrest. She had not taken a breath in the previous 14 minutes, and doctors declared her brain dead.
Three days later, she died after her family made the decision to take her off of life support.
That’s all according to the suit, which was filed Friday in Multnomah County Circuit Court. The attorney’s office for the City of Portland, which is listed as a defendant through its Bureau of Emergency Communications, declined to comment citing the pending litigation. More.
See: Oregon Live
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United States
Local time: 23:46
English to Spanish
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Then again, as I understand it 911 is able to get the exact location of landline calls, precisely because some callers like this lady who could not breathe or due to other causes can barely talk. I don't know about cell phones. Again, maybe the interpreter botched it or maybe not.
[Editado a las 2014-04-15 16:34 GMT] ▲ Collapse
United States
Local time: 00:46
Member (2008)
Croatian to English
+ ...
"In addition to the City of Portland, the Valdez-Lemus suit also lists as defendants: Language Line Translation Solutions, Lingo Systems, Language Line Service, AT&T Corp. and the unknown name of the company that provided the Spanish-language interpreter in Valdez-Lemus’ case."
Interestingly, it sounds like everybody is being sued EXCEPT the interpreter, unless "company that provided the ...interpreter" is the interpreter's own legal entity.
... See more
"In addition to the City of Portland, the Valdez-Lemus suit also lists as defendants: Language Line Translation Solutions, Lingo Systems, Language Line Service, AT&T Corp. and the unknown name of the company that provided the Spanish-language interpreter in Valdez-Lemus’ case."
Interestingly, it sounds like everybody is being sued EXCEPT the interpreter, unless "company that provided the ...interpreter" is the interpreter's own legal entity.
Given that there are recordings, the facts probably shouldn't be too hard to sort out.
In any case, it does make interesting fodder for our ongoing discussion about the need for liability insurance. ▲ Collapse
United States
German to English
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In any case, it does make interesting fodder for our ongoing discussion about the need for liability insurance.
This is only the second time I've heard of a language services provider being sued. Actually the first was when a client sued an agency over a job I did, about 20 years ago, but the agency won.
Whenever anyone tries to sell me liability insurance, I always want to ask: How many claims have you ever received?
United States
Local time: 23:46
English to Spanish
+ ...
Then again, it could be that any 911 operator (no interpreter ... See more
Then again, it could be that any 911 operator (no interpreter involved) or anyone else in a message chain could make a mistake in an address or misunderstand it.
And as Rudolf says: Given that there are recordings, the facts probably shouldn't be too hard to sort out. ▲ Collapse
Local time: 08:46
Member (2006)
English to Russian
+ ...
In my country, a translator / interpreter can be prosecuted only for intentionally wrong translation. I wonder, why the law in that country is so bad that a mistake becomes a crime.
Spain
Local time: 07:46
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Is it the interpreter's fault that the reporter did not speak a word of English? No.
Are interpreters supposed to know the names of all the streets in the area of influence and produce a list of possible renderings of the mispronounced street name, so that the dispatcher can send several emergency teams all around town? No.
In my opinion, the husband acted irresponsibly by not making sure that he sp... See more
Is it the interpreter's fault that the reporter did not speak a word of English? No.
Are interpreters supposed to know the names of all the streets in the area of influence and produce a list of possible renderings of the mispronounced street name, so that the dispatcher can send several emergency teams all around town? No.
In my opinion, the husband acted irresponsibly by not making sure that he speaks sufficient English to be able to respond to an emergency in a foreign country -- it is also possible that he is an American national, which would be even worse -- and that he is able to pronounce the name of his street in an intelligible manner. Not only is he in plain disregard of the community around, but he is putting himself, his wife, and above all his children at risk, with tragical results.
I do not think this event will ruin the interpreter since all calls are recorded and the interpreter's good faith will prevail, but scavengers in Lawyerland will certainly do their best to make him/her lose as much time and sleep as possible over the next couple of years. ▲ Collapse
France
Local time: 07:46
French to English
In my opinion, the husband acted irresponsibly by not making sure that he speaks sufficient English to be able to respond to an emergency in a foreign country
Do you learn how to say the name and location of every place you could possibly find yourself in while travelling? I've travelled to plenty of places where my grasp of the language barely exceeds "hello" and "thank you". Of course I do speak English well enough to speak to emergency services, but I've come across plenty of healthcare professionals and emergency workers with whom it is not possible to communicate in English.
Local time: 07:46
Spanish to English
+ ...
In my country, a translator / interpreter can be prosecuted only for intentionally wrong translation. I wonder, why the law in that country is so bad that a mistake becomes a crime.
An action in negligence can be brought against the interpreter (extra-contractual / tort law). The situation is very likely to be the same in your country too.
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