Family of Yvonne Freeman, New York City Woman Who Died in Blizzard, Plans $20 Million Lawsuit

Suffering a heart attack during the New York City blizzard after Christmas, Yvonne Freeman "never had a chance," her daughter says, because an ambulance took three hours to reach her over unplowed streets. By the time it got there, it was too late.

Now Freeman's family is planning a $20 million lawsuit against the city -- the first blizzard-related wrongful death case.

Freeman, 75, died Dec. 27. Her family says it took nearly 45 minutes to get through to 911 operators as she struggled for breath.

An abandoned taxi sits on West 73rd Street on December 27, 2010 in New York City. A blizzard pounded the East Coast of the United States delivering 20 inches of snow to New York City while snarling post-Christmas travel. (Andrew Burton, Getty Images)

Andrew Burton, Getty Images

An abandoned taxi sits on New York City's West 73rd Street on Dec. 27. The family of a woman who died from a heart attack during the blizzard says it plans to sue the city because an ambulance took three hours to reach her over unplowed streets.

"She never had a chance," her daughter, Laura Freeman, 41, told the New York Daily News, which first reported on the notice to sue. "I felt so helpless. I can't believe they wouldn't plow the streets. The city can't let this happen again. She was my life."

Laura Freeman was at her mother's Queens home and called 911 but only got a recording or a buzzing tone, her lawyer, Sanford Rubenstein, told AOL News today. Other family members were able to reach 911 some 45 minutes later, and it took the ambulance three hours to arrive.

Rubenstein said he'll inform the city today of plans for the lawsuit that alleges negligence by multiple agencies.

"The negligence of the sanitation, transportation and first responders departments caused this tragedy," Rubenstein told AOL News. "The failure to declare a snow emergency was inexcusable as was the breakdown of the 911 system."

City Law Department spokeswoman Kate Ahlers said, "The case involves a tragic situation, and we'll await the legal papers."

Rubenstein said Laura Freeman and her two brothers want not only the damages for their mother's death but also for a change in the way the city operates.

"Every tragedy is horrible," Rubenstein said, "and one of the main goals after a tragedy like this is to try to get change, so what happened here doesn't happen again."

The city, along with federal prosecutors, is looking into whether the chaos during the blizzard was caused by Sanitation Department workers participating in a work slowdown, the newspaper said.