Tyra Hunter (1970 – August 7, 1995) was an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

transgender woman A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and som ...

who died after being injured as a passenger in a car accident. Hunter transitioned at 14 and lived her adult life as a woman. The

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

was found responsible for her death, due to not delivering medical care, and for violations of the DC Human Rights Act during her treatment.

Accident and death

Hunter was in a road accident in 1995.

Emergency medical technician An emergency medical technician (EMT), also known as an ambulance technician, is a health professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found working in ambulances. In English-speaking countries, paramedics are ...

s (EMTs) at the scene of the accident used derogatory epithets and withdrew medical care after cutting open Hunter's pants and discovering that she had a penis. ER staff at

DC General Hospital The District of Columbia General Hospital was a hospital located in Washington, D.C. It was operational from 1806 to its controversial closing by mayor Anthony A. Williams in 2001, as the city was trying to cut costs while recovering from bankrup ...

subsequently "failed to diagnose Hunter's injuries and follow nationally accepted standards of care." Hunter died in the hospital the same day. A civil suit was later successfully brought by Hunter's mother against the District of Columbia. Over 2,000 people attended her funeral.

Lawsuit

The case against the District of Columbia was tried by Richard F. Silber. Dana Priesing, a transgender activist observing the trial, wrote that the evidence supported "the inference that a stereotype (namely that Hunter was an anonymous, drug-using,

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

street person) affected the treatment Tyra received," and that the "ER staff, as evidenced by their actions, did not consider her life worth saving." Adrian Williams, one of the EMTs who had neglected to treat Hunter, testified that he assumed she was a man on sight, "failing to notice that she had breasts, make-up, women's clothing, a woman's hairstyle, and white nail polish." One DC General employee, after being

subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

ed, left for Africa and did not return until late December 1998. In the end, none of the EMTs involved were ever disciplined. On December 11, 1998, a jury awarded Hunter's mother, Margie, $2,874,060 after finding the District of Columbia, through its employees in the DC Fire Department and doctors at DC General, liable under the DC Human Rights Act and for

negligence Negligence (Lat. ''negligentia'') is a failure to exercise appropriate and/or ethical ruled care expected to be exercised amongst specified circumstances. The area of tort law known as ''negligence'' involves harm caused by failing to act as a ...

and

medical malpractice Medical malpractice is a legal cause of action that occurs when a medical or health care professional, through a negligent act or omission, deviates from standards in their profession, thereby causing injury or death to a patient. The negligen ...

for causing Hunter's death. $600,000 was awarded for damages attributable to violations of the DC Human Rights Act associated with the withdrawal of medical care at the accident scene and openly denigrating Hunter with epithets, a further $1.5 million was awarded to her mother for Hunter's conscious

pain and suffering Pain and suffering is the legal term for the physical and emotional stress caused from an injury (see also pain and suffering). Some damages that might come under this category would be: aches, temporary and permanent limitations on activity, p ...

and for

economic loss Economic loss is a term of art which refers to financial loss and damage suffered by a person which is seen only on a balance sheet and not as physical injury to person or property. There is a fundamental distinction between pure economic loss and ...

from the

wrongful death Wrongful death claim is a claim against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as enumerated by statute. In wrongful death cases, survivors are compensated for the harm, l ...

medical malpractice claim. Doctors at DC General failed to diagnose and treat Hunter who died of

internal bleeding Internal bleeding (also called internal hemorrhage) is a loss of blood from a blood vessel that collects inside the body. Internal bleeding is usually not visible from the outside. It is a serious medical emergency but the extent of severity depen ...

in the hospital

emergency room An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pati ...

. Evidence at the trial demonstrated that had Hunter been provided with a

blood transfusion Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but mo ...

and referred to a surgeon, she would have had an 86% chance of surviving. In subsequent negotiations the case was settled for $1.75m.

Legacy

Transgender Youth Resources and Advocacy (TYRA) was a program of the former Illinois Gender Advocates, and Howard Brown Health Center was a

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

area transgender youth initiative named in the memory of Tyra Hunter. The epilogue of Genny Beemyn's 2014 book ''A Queer Capital: A History of Gay Life in Washington D.C.'' is "In Tyra's Memory".

References

External links

Analysis: Tyra Hunter Wrongful Death Trial

Victory in Tyra Hunter case

Washington Post
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Tyra 1970 births 1995 deaths LGBT African Americans LGBT in Washington, D.C. LGBT people from Washington, D.C. Road incident deaths in Washington, D.C. Transgender women Transgender and medicine Discrimination against transgender people 20th-century LGBT people

Accident and death

Lawsuit

Legacy

See also

References

External links