The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has found an Internet phone call center at fault for misdirecting an ambulance in a 911 call that caused a baby's death.
With the CRTC investigation of Melvin and Khadija Luck's complaint finding that Comwave's 911 call center agent failed to confirm the new address of the family's home in Calgary, the couple plans to sue the company for damages.
An aunt of the couple's 18-month-old son, Elijah, called 911 on April 29 using a Comwave telephone and line and asked for an ambulance to take the baby to the hospital because he was having difficulty in breathing. The 911 call center operator, however, dispatched the ambulance to the family's old address in Mississauga, Ontario.
The Lucks' account details, including their address, had not been updated since moving to Calgary two years before.
The call operator phoned back the caller when the 911 call was disconnected, but was unable to verify an address before the call was disconnected again, Comwave president Yuval Barzakay said, according to Canada.com.
The rule has always been if a VoIP customer calls 911, the call center operator must confirm the caller's location, CRTC director-general of telecommunications Paul Godin said in a statement to Canada.com.
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