By EMS1 Staff
VICTORIA, Australia — An Australian EMS agency pleaded guilty to violating the Occupational Health and Safety Act and fined over $314,000 in a paramedic’s fatal overdose.
SafetyCulture.com reported that the EMS agency was fined for failing to keep track of their stock of morphine and fentanyl after a paramedic was found dead by his wife and son at the station.
Officials said fentanyl and morphine were found in his system and he died of an overdose.
Prosecutors argued that the agency put the paramedic at risk by not reducing access to the drugs and did not conduct audits on their receipts, administration and disposal of the painkillers every three months like they were supposed to.
The agency changed its drug management policy after the incident, and now regularly checks records for unusual activity.