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.
5 actions EMS leaders should take to ensure ketamine is appropriately administered when indicated and documented correctly
Calls involving celebrities, chemical restraint, protests and mass shootings are just some of the scenarios that will put you in the public eye
Optimism is less a personality trait and more a strategy for how to deal with outside events – and strategies can be learned
Use a distracted driving policy to educate personnel on the risks of distracted driving and to set clear expectations for in-vehicle behavior
Accountability must occur at all levels of an organization, be tied to strategic goals and involve an ongoing process of evaluation and adjustment
The provision of EMS through numerous small services impacts purchasing, staffing and delivery of care
The man was driving to work when he hit the 9-month pregnant driver, who was then forced into labor
The former paramedic pleaded guilty to stealing the drugs for personal use
Quinn Boyer, 34, was killed during a carjacking in 2013
To accomplish EMS clinical and operational improvements leaders need to articulate a clear aim
Seven months after being hired, the firefighter/EMT was transferred to a different engine
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said the use of synthetic cannabinoids is causing deaths and sending thousands of people to emergency rooms around the country for treatment
The chief wants to “produce a healthier workforce” by cutting the field staff work week to 42 hours
16-hour NAEMT PEPL course uses case discussion and interactive lectures to teach skills important to the exercise of personal, ethical leadership
The debut issue of Paramedic Chief Digital Edition focuses on mergers, what they mean for small agencies and how they can be successful
The man had been diagnosed with psychosis, bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses
On three different occasions the drivers fell asleep while transporting patients, causing two deaths and at least one serious injury
The ability of an EMS management team to deal with conflict can either make or break the team’s ability to work together productively
The man grabbed the firefighter by the arm and collar, shoved him against a fire truck and threatened to kill him
The DC Fire and EMS paramedic was caught on camera sleeping while a patient was being transported to the hospital
The two-year project aims to address regulatory, financial and technological barriers to improving EMS
Responders working for private ambulance crews or rescue squads can’t get benefit because they weren’t employed by the FDNY
Nonprofit rescue squads, private ambulance provider and hospital begin talks as county prepares to hire an EMS consultant to analyze the system
What makes these recent cases even more worrisome is the fact that to satisfy their addiction, these medics put patients’ safety at risk
Paramedics must be afforded the opportunity to exercise a degree of autonomy in situations where the law and righteousness don’t always agree
Investigation found the program mired in delays for more than a decade, despite millions of dollars spent on audits and efforts to hire legal help to speed processing claims
Video captured by patient’s mother and shared on Facebook shows the Philly firefighter using his smartphone while transporting the boy; the Fire Commissioner promises discipline
The expectations of EMS volunteers often don’t match the reality of being an EMT or assure long-term survival for the organization
The sheriff’s department said the woman, 32, had been on the force for two years; her husband may have used his Los Angeles County Fire Department radio to report the shooting
A co-worker alerted management that the medic was administering dilaudid to patients that didn’t need it
Conference presentation to define tenants of professionalism and its need in the dynamic world of EMS