The Health Service Executive (HSE) has been fined €500,000 over the death of a paramedic who fell out of a moving ambulance.
43-year-old Simon Sexton from Stradone in Cavan died in June 2010 when the door of the ambulance opened while they were bringing a patient to Dublin.
He suffered fatal head injuries when he fell out of a moving ambulance trying to close a door in the rear cabin.
The HSE has since implemented additional safety features in ambulances including re-hinging what were sometimes known as 'suicide doors' because of the way they could fly open.
Judge Mary Ellen Ring says it begs the question why were these measures not put in place 3 years earlier after a similar non-fatal accident in 2007 when a paramedic was injured falling from an ambulance in Co. Kerry.
Simon Sexton's widow Katherine wept as she told the court of a letter she found that her 7-year-old daughter had written to her Dad letting him know how much she misses him and how she wishes he would come back.
The HSE has apologised for its failings including the lack of staff training which led to the death of the 43-year-old.
The family solicitor Mary Brady says they hope this tragedy will serve as a lesson.
