When a valley resident is in medical distress, he or she can call 911 and an ambulance will be dispatched as quickly as possible. Inside the ambulance, the paramedics, firefighters, and first responders will do everything in their power to keep the ailing patient alive. Unfortunately, not everything is within their power.

This was illustrated when an ambulance was struck by a pickup truck this week in North Las Vegas. Shortly after 10:30am Tuesday morning, a private ambulance operated by MedicWest was transporting a female patient when it was hit in the intersection of Decatur Boulevard and Craig Road. The ambulance tipped over onto its side, injuring two ambulance company employees and two North Las Vegas firefighters. The woman who was being transported later died at Mountain View Hospital.

There are few details as to exactly what caused the fatal auto accident. Presumably, the ambulance had its sirens and lights on at the time of the incident, meaning that it would have had the right-of-way in almost every traffic scenario. That means that the chances are good that the driver of the pickup truck will be held liable for the crash. If that is indeed the case, relatives of the deceased woman could decide to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the pickup’s driver. But the plaintiffs would have to prove to a jury that the woman died as a result of the accident, not because of her underlying medical condition which caused to be in the ambulance in the first place.