SAN MATEO COUNTY — A lawsuit filed Thursday alleges San Mateo County’s contracted ambulance company has permitted a “boys-gone-wild atmosphere” that has led to multiple allegations of sexual assault, most recently involving aIt is the second lawsuit the Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy law firm has filed against American Medical Response, a Colorado-based company also contracted to work in other Bay Area counties.
Attorneys with Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy filed a similar suit in May against AMR alleging the same paramedic similarly sexually assaulted an 82-year-old Colma woman in December 2022 while she was strapped into a gurney and wore a neck brace. The latest lawsuit claims that the incident caused the 81-year-old victim to suffer “significant emotional distress.” She no longer lives independently and has a deep fear of ambulances, according to the suit.
“I’ve been doing this for four and a half decades and I have never seen a case like this before,” said Stephen Wagstaffe, San Mateo County District Attorney, according to the court filing. “There is no civilized person that could be capable of doing this.”