ATLANTA, GA – An Atlanta family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Grady Memorial Hospital, alleging that critical ambulance delays led to the tragic death of their 15-year-old daughter.
The Incident
The lawsuit stems from a 2024 incident where Amanda Sylvester, 15, collapsed during a volleyball practice with her club, Dream Chasers, in College Park.
According to the family’s complaint, bystanders immediately called 911. The lawsuit claims that Grady Memorial Hospital’s EMS responders did not have an ambulance available at the time and failed to request mutual aid from nearby agencies to assist the teen.
The 20-Minute Delay Allegation
A central claim in the lawsuit is that dispatchers waited more than 20 minutes to inform the family that no ambulance was coming.
The family states that if they had been notified immediately, Amanda’s mother would have driven her to the hospital right away instead of waiting. The mother ultimately did drive Amanda to the hospital herself, where the teen tragically died later that night from cardiac failure.
Hospital And City Response
Officials from the City of College Park stated that their fire rescue and EMS personnel arrived within eight minutes of the initial call, stabilizing Amanda and finding her conscious with normal vitals at the time.
Grady EMS has strongly defended its response, stating the delay was due to a communication gap:
- Low Acuity Rating: The hospital claims the initial 911 call from the College Park communications center lacked critical details, causing the call to be categorized as a non-life-threatening emergency.
- Second Call Upgrade: Grady EMS states that it did dispatch an ambulance as soon as a second 911 call provided Amanda’s detailed medical history, upgrading the situation to high urgency.
- Cancellation: The ambulance was eventually cancelled once they learned a family member had already driven Amanda to the medical facility.
The legal battle continues as local sports communities, including the Dream Chasers Volleyball Club, call for major systemic reforms to emergency dispatch networks to protect local youth.
