Kentucky Injury Attorney Blog

It has been discovered that Tammy Brewer, the Louisville EMT had methadone in her system on the night she is accused of causing an accident that killed a patient.

The commonwealth attorney's discovery revealed that a blood test taken the night of the accident confirms that Brewer did have methadone in her system. The Kentucky State Police Lab conducted the test and found that Brewer had a "therapeutic" amount of methadone in her system.

Discovery documents reveal that Brewer was not seeking treatment at the nearest methadone clinic at the time of the crash.

A Kentucky State Police investigation did reveal that in the year prior to the accident, Brewer had 19 new prescriptions that were filled at 11 different pharmacies by different providers for pain killers and muscle relaxers including xanax, vicodin and klonopin.

An internal investigation by EMS revealed that paramedic Greg Gavin, Brewer's partner has sent a text message to another paramedic saying that Brewer was "loopy" and not in a condition to drive.

The family of Tammy Brewer is now suing the ambulance driver and three EMT's.

Investigators from the Kentucky Public Protection Cabinet on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 released a report which states that a mechanical failure on an elevator at a hospital in Elizabethtown, Kentucky is to blame for causing the elevator to stop between floors and an accident injuring an employee to occur.

The state report details that a restictor was out of adjustment and this caused the elevator to stop between floors. The doors to the elevator were able to be opened and an employee of Hardin Memorial Hospital who was trying to get out of the elevator, slipped and fell approximately 25 feet to the floor of the elevator shaft early Monday. The employee was said to be critically injured as a result of the accident.

Unfortunately, accidents involving elevators are not uncommon. Just this summer, on June 13, 2009, an 8-year-old was killed in an accident involving an elevator in western Kentucky.

Today a Louisville Metro EMT, Tammy Brewer, will be arraigned on several charges including murder and driving under the influence. The charges stem from an April 2008 accident that resulted in the death of Vicki Whobrey, a patient being transported by Brewer to the hospital. While transporting Whobrey, Brewer ran into a telephone pole and struck a fence. Witnesses stated that prior to the accident, Brewer was acting "loopy" and that she admitted to taking pills because she wasn't feeling well.

While Brewer said after the accident that she would submit to drug testing, investigators state that she left before the tests were complete. Brewer has been suspended without pay from the city.