AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Texas Department of State Health Services revoked a Pflugerville paramedic’s certifications following an autopsy report that revealed the paramedic’s actions led to a patient’s death earlier this year. 

The autopsy report said a middle-aged man struck his head on a coffee table and needed to be taken to the hospital for care. It indicated that the patient had been sedated with medication and the paramedic did not open the patient’s airway as they should have.

“This led to a compromise to his already diseased heart leading to death,” the autopsy report, quoted in the DSHS letter, read. 

The paramedic worked for Allegiance Mobile Health, the largest private provider of medical transportation and emergency services in Texas, according to its website. 

The DSHS letter stated that the paramedic failed to follow their medical director’s protocol.

“This medic did not follow protocols and also allowed a basic to administer a controlled substance,” the paramedic’s medical director was quoted saying in the DSHS letter. “This call did not reflect the care that I expect to be delivered to our patients,” she continued. 

The DSHS told the paramedic in a September letter that as a result of an investigation and review of all the documents, the department found it necessary to revoke their certification. 

The letter states the paramedic has 30 days to formally appeal the decision.