Legal Issues
The legal issues topic contains news and information about legal issues affecting EMS personnel, agencies or departments. Find the latest news from personnel misconduct, to disciplinary and harassment cases, to malpractice lawsuits, as well as advice to prevent legal action with EMS training, documentation and management.
A more diverse EMS workforce provides more equitable care
We can’t replace people, but we can grow new leaders
The West Allis Fire Department is educating its community and improving OHCA survival rates
“I couldn’t give a s--- if the whole street collapsed now move your van from outside my house,” the note read
Leland Brown II died after it took 19 minutes for an ambulance to arrive to treat him for what was determined to be cardiac arrest
An advance-practice nurse at the center said Melissa Tackett had falsified her signature on two scripts for the opioids
A witness said she saw the suspect launch the ambulance off a boat ramp and jump out just before it hit the water
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a detainer that would allow them to remove Jose Martin Duran Romero if he’s released from local custody
Jamie Marquardt said in a lawsuit that the posts appeared on his Facebook page after spending a night talking down a suicidal man he knew by the name “Donnie”
Alecia Malpiede said she used a lighter to set the house on fire, and then also tried to set fire to the ambulance she was riding in
Bruce Diamond, a homeless man, was arrested after throwing a rock at the ambulance while it was parked at a curb
Police said Jose Duran Romero’s blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit, and he had bloodshot, glassy eyes at the time of the crash
The lawsuit alleges that The Recovery Center and four of its owners defrauded Medicaid by claiming it offered patients medical advice
Two Charlotte-area counties became the latest local governments to join a massive federal lawsuit against the producers and distributors of opioids
The 12 deaths have been ruled homicides but no one has been charged; a criminal investigation is ongoing
A complaint filed last year said AmeriCare submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare and TRICARE for non-emergency ambulance transports
Three Just Culture behavior categories provide a launching point for action steps and EMS quality improvement
Selecting the wrong candidates as FTOs or undermining their authority results in ineffective paramedic training, impacting turnover, quality of care and job performance
Joseph Comstock was sentenced to two years and six months in federal prison as part of a plea agreement
Gerald and Dorothy Dennis were arraigned on 189-count criminal complaints and charged with theft and forgery
After Justin Hemphill was struck by a car in a parking lot, he allegedly spit blood and saliva on the responding EMS provider and police officer
The proposal bars doctors from prescribing more than an initial five-day supply of pain meds and will help uninsured and underinsured people get addiction treatment
Kevin Davis was arrested for treating a teen, who later died of a drug overdose, at an illegal rave
Richelle Grapes is facing multiple felonies after allegedly stealing medication from one patient’s home, and then burglarizing another patient’s home the next day
Here’s a breakdown of who is considered “essential” and “nonessential” during a federal government shutdown
William Rutger, 61, was arrested after making an allegedly alcohol-related 911 call twice
Lisa Kohler said Tonya Johnson’s action of stepping into rush hour traffic was more dangerous than Russian roulette
They said the crisis is beginning to erode the nation’s workforce and undermine companies’ ability to hire
Lisa Purvis, whose son died in the crash, created a petition against the rehiring of Edward Ackerman
North West Ambulance Service Trust said they were “appalled” that the staff member did not take the body directly to the morgue because their shift had ended
EMTs Colby Jackson and Shannon Muttram filed a lawsuit against the estate of Stephen Paddock for a collective $4 million
A gingerbread house at a holiday party in 2015 had “sexual harassment in progress” etched into its roof, according to the lawsuit
North Bellmore Fire Department is being sued after Anne Stahlberg died from head trauma she suffered after falling from a gurney
