The paramedic whose alleged handling of New York Times reporter David Rosenbaum led to an overhaul of the District's EMS department is going back to work.
In January 2006, Rosenbaum was mugged and beaten with a pipe outside his Northwest home. He died from his injuries two days later.
Paramedic Selena Walker was fired in July 2006 following an investigation into the handling of the case. Authorities accused Walker of driving all the way to Howard University Hospital instead of nearby Sibley Hospital, so she had a chance to stop and get money to buy dinner afterward. She denied those claims.
The D.C. Court of Appeals recently issued an order on the case, ruling that Walker was wrongly fired and must be reinstated.
The District settled a lawsuit with the Rosenbaum family. In addition to the allegations of being transported to the wrong hospital, the lawsuit alleged it took the ambulance a long time to respond, and when paramedics did arrive, they diagnosed Rosenbaum as drunk rather than as the vicitm of a violent crime. As part of the settlement, the city agreed to change its emergency response procedures.
Two men were arrested and convicted of Rosenbaum's murder.
