Southfield, Mich. – A wrongful-death lawsuit was filed Monday in the case of a 6-year-old boy who called 911 after his mother collapsed and was told by an operator that he should not be playing on the phone.
Attorney Geoffrey Fieger has said Sherrill Turner, who had an enlarged heart, would have survived Feb. 20 if help had been sent immediately.
The lawsuit was filed by Turner’s family against two unnamed dispatchers. Fieger said the city was not named in the lawsuit because state law prohibits it but that Detroit would be liable for its employees.
Robert Turner, who was 5 at the time, was alone with his mother when she collapsed in the bedroom. In the first call, he told the operator that his mother had passed out, but the operator asked to speak with an adult.
When he called back about three hours later, he repeated that his mother had passed out. Another operator said: “You shouldn’t be playing on the phone.” Later she said: “Now put her on the phone before I send the police out there to knock on the door, and you gonna be in trouble.”
Police eventually arrived at the house after the second call, but Turner already was dead. An ambulance never came.
