NEWPORT BEACH

Representatives of a Corona del Mar woman have filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging that mistakes by paramedics caused her to fall into a coma. Medical officials do not know if Camille Schoenle, 34, will wake up from the coma that began on July 17, 1996, when she lapsed into unconsciousness after suffering breathing trouble. The city disputes the allegations, asserting that paramedics did nothing wrong and that the city acted responsibly.

The suit alleges emergency workers took too long before deciding to insert a breathing tube and then did not insert it properly, ultimately causing Schoenle to go into cardiac arrest. Paramedics jump-started her heart while en route to the hospital, but Schoenle never awakened. The complaint also alleges that the emergency workers took an unacceptably long time in responding to the call.

The report by emergency workers indicates that they received the call at 1:14 p.m. They had already arrived and began to administer treatment by 1:19 or 1:20 p.m. and began administering CPR when Schoenle stopped breathing at about 1:23 p.m., according to the records. By 1:26 p.m., a breathing tube had been placed in her throat. The report says that emergency workers found Schoenle lethargic, wheezing from a partial obstruction in her throat. In her panic, the report states, Schoenle was combative and unable to follow commands.

In addition to the claims by Schoenle’s representatives, her husband, Brian, and child, Gudren, 3, are named as plaintiffs. The suit does not name a dollar amount, but in their initial claim against the city, the Schoenles claimed they had paid millions of dollars in medical expenses and probably faced millions more for future care.