A Ruby Memorial Hospital nurse who was injured in an ambulance crash during the transport of a newborn baby is suing the ambulance company and its driver.

Melissa Slavensky filed the lawsuit in Monongalia County Circuit Court against Monongalia EMS and driver Joshua David Slagle.

On Nov. 23, 2009, Slavensky, a neonatal t r a n s p o r t nurse, and Slagle assisted in the relocation of a 2-hour-old baby girl who was born prematurely in Maryland and needed specialized respiratory services available at Ruby Memorial Hospital, according to The Dominion Post archives.

The ambulance crashed on W.Va. 705. A Monongalia County Sheriff's Department deputy told The Dominion Post after the crash that Slagle failed to maintain control of the ambulance while passing other cars on W.Va. 705. The ambulance hit the median and flipped over. No citations were issued.

According to the lawsuit, Slagle drove the ambulance "at a high rate of speed and in an unsafe and reckless manner."

As a result of the crash, Slavensky suffered severe fractures of both arms, which required surgery; a severe blow to the head; scarring and disfigurement; and anaphylactic shock reactions from medications prescribed to treat her pain and hospital-acquired infections, the lawsuit said.

The suit also names Slavensky's husband, Roy Slavensky, as a plaintiff.

The couple is suing for payment of medical bills, lost wages and an unspecified sum of money for punitive damages.

The baby survived the crash. In an interview with The Dominion Post last year, the baby's grandfather credited Slavensky for saving her life when Slavensky put her arms inside the neonatal enclosure the baby was in to brace the baby as much as she could from the impact.

Slavensky's attorney, Wes Metheney, said Slavensky was able to go back to nursing at Ruby, but hasn't been able to return to doing medical transports.

He said ambulance drivers must use the same care in operating a vehicle as would other motorists.

A Monongalia EMS representative had no comment Monday.

Source: Brandy Brubaker from The Dominion Post.