D.C. woman’s number of 911 calls prompt city to request that she be given a guardian

Martha Rigsby collapsed to the ground for the first time in 1977. The spells continued, and she began calling 911 for help.

She hasn’t stopped.

In the past year alone, she’s accounted for 226 calls to 911 and been whisked by an ambulance to a hospital 117 times.

Among firefighters in the District, she’s a dreaded legend. They can recite her date of birth and Social Security number from memory.

Over 30 years, Rigsby has become the most frequent 911 user in D.C. history, totaling thousands of emergency calls and trips to the hospital after falling down, court papers say.

Dubbed “super users” or “frequent fliers,” repeat 911 callers have long been identified as burdens on the health system and a drain on public-safety resources. That’s why a group of city officials met earlier this year to figure out how to solve their problem with Rigsby.

The situation has led to the first known attempt in the city to seek guardianship for a serial 911 caller. The Department of Behavioral Health filed a court petition in April, alleging that Rigsby, 58, has bipolar and borderline personality disorders and does not have the mental capacity to handle her medical affairs.

These are “uncharted waters,” said David Miramontes, medical director of the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department.

Public documents and legal proceedings detail Rigsby’s 911 habits and assessments of her mental state and medical problems. They also reveal continued concerns from D.C. officials about the impact of one woman’s troubles on public-health and safety resources.

Although Rigsby has had various medical insurance plans throughout the years, she has an outstanding balance of $61,366.33 owed to the D.C. Fire and EMS for ambulance transports, according to Andrew Beaton, the department’s management program analyst.

In the past five years, each ambulance trip has averaged $478.

Rigsby opposes the city’s attempt at guardianship. Over two weeks, she has quietly watched the proceedings in Judge Erik P. Christian’s courtroom in the D.C. Superior Court’s probate division. She has whispered instructions to her court-appointed attorney, Vickey Wright-Smith, at times.

Wright-Smith has argued that Rigsby is able to care for herself and has no malicious intent for calling 911.

If the District’s petition is successful, the medical guardian could take responsibilities for such things as hiring a home health aide, filling prescriptions and proposing a different living environment. But it would still be possible for Rigsby to dial 911 because the guardian would not be a live-in caregiver.

After a court session this week, Rigsby seemed taken aback by a question about her calls to 911. “Well, I don’t do it on purpose,” she responded.

According to testimony during the court hearings, Rigsby’s calls follow the same general pattern. She feels faint and collapses. About 40 percent of the time, she dials 911 on her own. Other times, she’s out in the District when passersby see her fall and call for help, the testimony indicated.