The Augusta Commission authorized a $150,000 settlement Tuesday with the family of a woman who died as first responders stood outside the door of her home.
The family of Nichoel “Nikki” Gaither, 43, filed a wrongful death lawsuit last year against Augusta Fire Department, Gold Cross EMS and Augusta 911.
Gaither called 911 for an ambulance the morning of April 21, 2021, gasping “I can’t breathe” into the phone, according to the lawsuit. Per protocol at the time, the 911 dispatcher transferred the call to Gold Cross EMS, which requested 911 dispatch Augusta Fire Department.
With both 911 and Gold Cross on the phone, Gaither said she was unable to get to her door and granted permission for first responders to use forced entry, according to the lawsuit. The Club Car customer account specialist had suffered a pulmonary embolism, it said.
At that point, the 911 defendants “violated a ministerial duty” by failing to relay the information to Augusta Fire that Gaither had given permission to break in.
Gold Cross, meanwhile, attempted to dispatch its nearest ambulance, located about eight miles from Gaither’s Crest Drive residence, but “the phone was off the hook” at the location, according to the lawsuit. Eight minutes after her 911 call, Gold Cross dispatched a unit from Brown Road, about 12 miles away.
The plaintiffs, Mattie Gaither and Tara Hannah, would later drop Gold Cross as a defendant. The complaint said a Gold Cross dispatcher, “understanding Nikki’s need for immediate medical attention” called Augusta 911 back and said Gaither had given “verbal permission” to break in, “because she can’t get up and unlock the door.”
Arriving on the scene 15 minutes after her call, Augusta Fire Department knocked at the door and received no response. Apparently unaware of Gaither’s worsening condition and her having given Gold Cross permission to force entry, a firefighter asked 911 to inquire if Gaither could come to the door.
The Gold Cross dispatcher called 911 again, explaining “Nikki could hear the AFD defendants ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door, but that “she can’t get up to answer the door.”
At the time, Augusta firefighters cited a policy, now rescinded, of former Fire Chief Chris James that they not break into a home without a Richmond County Sheriff’s deputy present.
Neither Gold Cross nor Augusta 911 had been aware of such a policy, according to the lawsuit.
At 5:09 a.m., a half-hour after Gaither called 911, Gold Cross and a sheriff’s deputy arrived and gained entry, but it was too late. Gaither, after “suffering unimaginable terror of impending injury and death” could not be resuscitated.
The commission unanimously approve the settlement.
The commission also approved a $50,000 settlement with a woman who accused Deputy Charlie T. Walker of rape. The plaintiff contended Walker followed her in his vehicle from a 2019 party at the Julian Smith Casino, where he was working a special duty assignment.
After accusing her of driving under the influence, he forced himself on her, the suit said.
