MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A state appeals court says the estate of a man who died after the ambulance taking him to the hospital crashed can't sue.

Clarence Collis suffered a heart attack in 2012. The Hazel Green Rescue Squad loaded Collis into an ambulance. The ambulance crashed, throwing Collis into a ditch. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Collis' estate filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2014. A Grant County judge ruled last year the estate failed to give notice of the claim.

The estate argued it didn't need to give notice since the rescue squad isn't a government operation. The 4th District Court of Appeals ruled Thursday the squad is a municipality, triggering a clause in state law requiring notice.

The estate's attorney didn't immediately return a voicemail.