Widow Takes First Step in Suing Village Over 911 Mix-up

' widow is weighing her legal options in the aftermath of an 911 operator sending an ambulance to the wrong address in November while her husband was dying.

Sherri Ross and Lanny Ross' estate filed a notice of claim against the village, the dispatching department, the village police, which after the 911 mix-up, and Suffolk County last month. A notice of claim is the first step in filing a lawsuit. 

According to the claim, which was obtained by East Hampton Patch, "The nature of the claim is negligence, personal injury, conscious pain and suffering, survival action, tort and wrongful death." It was filed on Feb. 8.

Ross said in a brief phone conversation on Monday that she was advised to preserve her right to bring a lawsuit against the village and had 90 days from her husband's Nov. 12 death to do so.

"I don't know what I want to do. It's a very big decision to make," she said. "I'm really just very torn about it all."

On Nov. 14, Ross dialed 911 when her husband, 51, had a heart attack. According to a tape of the 911 call, Ross gave the 911 operator her exact address in Wainscott. The dispatcher, however, sent an ambulance and police officers to a similar address in East Hampton. Help didn't arrive for 13 minutes.

The dispatcher was later discplined.

The claim said the dispatcher's actions were reckless. "Further, negligence in the hiring, training, and retention of the dispatcher and EMTs was negligent." Neither ambulance crews from or the that eventually arrived on scene are named in the action.

The amount of damages being sought are not specified in the claim. The notices said damages were being sought are for how Ross suffered until his death and for the financial loss as a result of Ross' death for his wife and dependent children. Ross has a teenage daughter from another marriage and was raising his wife's teenage daughter.

Village Administrator Larry Cantwell said the village has forwarded the suit to its insurance company for review. When asked if a settlement was an option, Cantwell said, "I don't know they have even evaluated the facts yet."

Peter Panaro of Massapequa, Ross' attorney who filed the claim, did not return a call for comment.