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PARAMEDIC FACES MULTIPLE LAWSUITS ALLEGING HE ABUSED PATIENTS IN AMBULANCE


James Lavelle Walley was arrested in October 2018 after one of the victims
reported sexual abuse to authorities.(Photo source: Jackson Co. Sheriff's Dept.)
By Lindsay Knowles
Updated: Mar. 4, 2019 at 10:49 AM GMT-8
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GREENE COUNTY, MS (WLOX) - A South Mississippi paramedic is facing allegations
that he sexually assaulted multiple victims in the back of an ambulance,
including a pregnant woman who miscarried days later, a 65-year-old woman with
COPD, and two women suffering from mental health issues.

The abuse allegedly took place over the course of years, with the earliest
complaint dating back more than four years ago. All of the incidents reportedly
happened while the victims were being transported in the ambulance to hospitals
across South Mississippi and Mobile, AL.

Six lawsuits have been filed against James Lavelle Walley of Leakesville and
ASAP EMS Corp., the company who employed him. Walley was arrested in October
2018 and charged with sexual battery after one victim notified authorities about
the assault.

One of the lawsuits, which alleged abuse against a woman who had been paralyzed
in a car crash, was dismissed on Feb. 13, 2019, less than a month after the
complaint was first filed.



Another lawsuit was filed by a Greene County woman and her husband naming
Walley, ASAP EMS, and three unnamed ASAP employees. The couple allege that the
woman, who was pregnant at the time, was being transported in an ASAP ambulance
on April 19, 2018, after suffering a medical event that left her with limited
control of her body's movements. Walley and the driver of the ambulance were the
only two paramedics present.

During the drive to Greene County Hospital in Leakesville, the woman said Walley
sexually assaulted her while she was immobilized. The complaint states the
victim eventually regained the ability to move and speak and tried to fight off
Walley while calling for help. Her calls went ignored by the driver, according
to the complaint.

The plaintiff said she immediately contacted law enforcement and went through
the sexual assault testing to verify an assault had occurred. Within 48 hours of
the attack, the woman miscarried. The court documents say the miscarriage was a
direct result of the injuries and stress caused by the assault.

The complaint says ASAP EMS was immediately notified of the allegations against
Walley but chose to keep him employed, allowing him to go on to assault other
victims.



Among other compensatory and punitive damages, the couple is asking the court to
grant them an unspecified amount for emotional and physical distress. Damages
for breach of fiduciary duty are also being requested in the complaint, which
states the ambulance company and its drivers owed a duty to the woman to keep
her safe against harm and failed to do so.

The couple's lawsuit was filed on Feb. 11, 2019, by Ocean Springs attorney
Joshua W. Danos. That complaint names the woman and her husband. However, we do
not identify victims of sexual assault so we have opted to leave their names out
of this story.

Five of the lawsuits were filed separately by Leakesville attorney L. Joe Beard
on Jan. 14, 2019. In those five complaints, the women are only identified as
Jane Doe 1-5. With one of the complaints dismissed, the other four are still
pending in court.

Jane Doe #1: The first plaintiff is a resident of George County who has a
history of mental health issues. The complaint against Walley states she
attempted suicide by overdose on Sept. 15, 2018, and was being taken by ASAP
from George County to Singing River Hospital in Pascagoula. The complaint states
Walley and an unidentified female paramedic were on-duty in the ambulance at the
time. The woman was driving while Walley was in the back of the ambulance,
according to the victim. During the course of that transport, the victim said
Walley sexually assaulted her.



Jane Doe #2: The second plaintiff is a resident of Greene County with a
documented history of mental health issues. The complaint alleges that on June
8, 2018, she was being transported from her home in Leakesville to Singing River
Hospital in Pascagoula after attempting suicide by drug overdose. At the time,
the two paramedics on duty in the ambulance were Walley and another man, who was
driving. During the course of that transport, the victim said Walley sexually
assaulted her.

Jane Doe #3: The third plaintiff filing suit against Walley said she had
pneumonia and was being taken from her home in Leakesville to George County
Hospital in Lucedale. ASAP EMS then were tasked with transporting her from
Lucedale to a hospital in Mobile. During both transports, Walley and another
male paramedic were the only two in the ambulance. Walley was in back with the
patient while the other man drove, said the complaint. The victim alleges that
Walley sexually abused her during both ambulance trips.

Jane Doe #4 and her husband John Doe: A 65-year-old woman and her husband also
filed suit against Walley and ASAP EMS, alleging sexual abuse while she was
being taken from George County Hospital in Lucedale to Mobile Infirmary in
Mobile. The woman was suffering from respiratory failure and chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease, or COPD. At the time of the transport, the complaint states
Walley was in the back with the woman while another man drove the ambulance.
During the course of that transport, the victim said Walley sexually assaulted
her.

All four complaints filed on behalf of Jane Doe claim ASAP EMS knew about
Walley’s propensity for sexual violence for a number of years, having been
notified by Greene County Sheriff’s Department.



Those court documents, along with the complaint filed by the married couple,
state ASAP EMS Corp. did not have adequate policies in place to protect the
patients. The complaints also allege that ASAP failed to properly staff the
ambulance, did not train its employees properly, and did not supervise its
employees accordingly.

Additionally, the complaints outline the special relationship that existed
between the victims and the defendants, saying Walley and ASAP had a duty to
protect the victims from harm and failed to do so. Citing the Mississippi
Vulnerable Persons Act, the complaints state that the victims were each
vulnerable under the state statute.

The complaints also cite a common carrier liability, saying the ambulance
service owed the plaintiffs the highest duty of care to safely transport them
and failed to do so.

Plaintiffs are asking the court to grant damages for all medical and hospital
expenses, permanent impairment and mental disability, mental and emotional
stress, physical pain, loss of enjoyment of life, disability, punitive damages,
attorney fees, and any other losses that may arise due to the abuse the women
suffered.



Plaintiffs are asking that the court grant a jury trial.

However, ASAP has requested a change of venue in the trial, stating that because
the alleged assaults happened while the ambulance was driving between counties,
it's not possible to tell which county has the jurisdiction to hold the trial.
They are asking that the trial be moved to Jones County, where the company's
home office is.

ASAP EMS also entered a Greene County Herald article as evidence, stating that
the public has been tainted by the plaintiff's attorney L. Joe Beard due to
comments he has made to the media.

A hearing to determine whether the venue will be changed is scheduled for May at
the Greene County Courthouse.

Copyright 2019 WLOX. All rights reserved.


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