James Michael Lindsay was 67 years old when he tragically passed away in Costa Rica. He was standing in line at an airline counter of the Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) when he felt ill and asked for help. Red Cross rescuers on duty at SJO determined that Mr. Lindsay suffered a cardiac arrest and started basic, and later advanced, lifesaving procedures as emergency transport was arranged to the nearby San Rafael Hospital in Alajuela; alas, he lost his life.

 

What happened when Mr. Lindsay arrived at the hospital has been a topic of discord between the Red Cross and emergency officials at the hospital, which is operated by Costa Rica’s venerable, yet strained, public health known as La Caja. Mr. Lindsay never entered the hospital; his rescuers kept guard over his lifeless body in the ambulance as they waited for forensic personnel to arrive. Red Cross workers are claiming that Mr. Lindsay was refused care; hospital officials state that he was dead on arrival and thus denied entry to the emergency room. Alejandro Fonseca of daily tabloid Diario Extra interviewed the quarrelling parties in the case:

 

Karen Cordero, Red Cross Paramedic: “The problem is that, while we were en route, the patient once again goes into cardiac arrest. The [emergency] physicians tell us that no patient would be admitted and that our patient would have to remain in the ambulance.”

 

Francisco Castro, Red Cross Paramedic: “They did not want to admit our patient. They said that he had no pulse and they did not let us take him out of the ambulance. We were performing cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and had not pronounced him dead. Dr. Arroyo mentioned that [the patient] did not have a pulse.”

 

Mr. Castro added that electrocardiographic spikes could still be observed at the time. Hospital officials disagree:

 

Jean Esteban Rojas, Chief of Emergency Medical Services at the San Rafael Hospital: