KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM) — Bronson Methodist Hospital has issued a statement on the death of James Dunigan, the Kalamazoo man who died in transit to the Kalamazoo County Jail after being treated at the Bronson Methodist Hospital emergency room.
After treatment, he waited for the buses to start running, but when he wouldn’t leave, hospital staff called Kalamazoo Public Safety to have him removed.
The 57-year-old Dunigan had arrived at the emergency room in an ambulance complaining of chest pains. His death a few hours after treatment has become a matter of controversy.
The two officers who believed he must have been faking his symptoms in the back of their patrol car felt that way because he had just come from a hospital. The officers were each suspended for a day and Chief Jeff Hadley says he plans to beef up training for public safety officers who may have to deal with a similar situation in the future.
Hadley says it may be a matter of officers being more cognizant of what they are actually observing rather than where they have been.
An extensive post-mortem compete with autopsy and toxicology tests revealed that Dunigan was a chronic abuser of cocaine and other pain killers, with cardiovascular disease, liver failure and diabetes.
He was also under the influence at the time of drugs that may have been administered during his treatment.
We asked Bronson to respond to their actions that day and they replied that patient privacy laws prevent them from releasing any information.
“All people who come to Bronson Methodist Hospital’s emergency department are medically screened and their condition stabilized,” a statement read. “Services are provided the same for all patients, regardless of their ability to pay.”
