SPRINGFIELD, Ill. –– Monday, December 18, 2023 marks the somber anniversary of the death of Earl Moore Jr. Nationally renowned attorneys Ben Crump and Bob Hilliard have joined forces as co-lead counsel to seek justice for the family of Moore, Jr. in a wrongful death lawsuit. The suit, filed in January, names defendant Lifestar Ambulance Service and EMTs Peggy Finley and Peter Cadigan, criminally charged with first-degree murder stemming from his death.
The wrongful death case seeks justice for the callous disregard and inhumane treatment Moore Jr. received on December 18, 2022, when during a medical emergency, he was forcefully positioned face down in a prone state on an ambulance stretcher. The video of Earl Moore’s death is indisputable. Bodycam video footage shows LifeStar employees Finley and Cadigan tying Moore face down to the stretcher, securing the straps so tightly that Moore suffocated.
Attorney Bob Hilliard states, “Had Earl’s vitals been checked during his transport to the hospital, as was standard medical procedure, it would have been immediately apparent that he was in grave and life-threatening danger from being tightly strapped face down on the gurney. Instead, this man, a son, and a loving brother, was to slowly and painfully suffocate inside of an ambulance filled with all the medical equipment necessary to have saved him.”
Despite paramedics being trained not to place individuals in the prone position, defendants Cardigan and Finley rejected that training. The failure to follow proper protocol directly led to Moore Jr.’s death, the lawsuit alleges.
“The video is so shocking because they offer Earl no consideration. From the moment they get there, it is like a hostile encounter. Earl was screaming out for help – saying ‘help me’, ‘help me’, ‘help me’. The police understood he was reaching out for help. But the EMT workers – gave him no professionalism and no humanity. It’s barbaric. They treated Earl inhumanely.” remarked Attorney Ben Crump.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Earl’s mother, Rose Washington, and his three sisters ShiKira Brooks, Mahogany Moore, and Chatara Moore, as the first anniversary of Earl Moore’s death approaches. We will never forget Earl Moore Jr., and we will never forget his name. We stand united with the family and will continue to fight for justice for Earl.
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ABOUT BEN CRUMP LAW
Through his work, nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump has spearheaded a legal movement to better protect the rights of marginalized citizens. He has led landscape-changing civil rights cases and represented clients in a wide range of areas including civil rights, personal injury, labor and employment, class actions, and more. Ben Crump Law is dedicated to holding the powerful accountable. For more information, visit bencrump.com.
ABOUT HILLIARD MARTINEZ GONZALES
Bob Hilliard has led HMG to the forefront of national trial law firms. Having tried over 100 jury trials, Mr. Hilliard is also a two-time winner of the National Law Journal’s prestigious Elite Trial Lawyer of the Year award, as well as being recognized as a Super lawyer for the past 18 years. Mr. Hilliard is double board certified and recognized as one of the top 100 trial lawyers in the United States. In the past six months, HMG’s 40 lawyer firm has already secured over 100 million dollars in verdicts and settlements. For more information, visit https://hmglawfirm.com/.
