Tiffany Applewhite Case Study

In February 1998 12 year old Tiffany Applewhite went into anaphylactic shock and her heart stopped after a nurse gave her a shot of steroids for an eye condition in her family’s apartment. Tiffany’s mother called 911, and the city sent two medics in an ambulance. That ambulance didn’t have the advanced life support equipment that Tiffany needed, and the paramedics failed to bring oxygen or a defibrillator. Tiffany’s mother had pleaded with the paramedics to take her daughter to the nearby Montefiore Hospital. Instead, they advised her to wait for the private ambulance with advanced life support equipment to arrive. When that ambulance arrived 20 minutes later, paramedics gave her epinephrine and oxygen and transported her to Montefiore. She