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.
Tips for first responders serving as a witness in criminal and civil trials
Influence growth where you are able, while defining your own success
First responders must be clear about their observations and follow key documentation guidelines to be considered as a credible witness
Jurors found that Dodgers negligent in that the team failed to provide adequate security and must pay $13.9 million in damages, but absolved former owner Frank McCourt
She filed a lawsuit against the fire department for not hiring her as a paramedic
A man was arrested at the scene and charged with attempted murder; the burned man remains in the hospital
Jurors have been unable to reach a decision on whether the Dodgers should be held responsible after two men brutally beat the paramedic on Opening Day 2011
Chris and Kelly also talk about a Texas EMS agency that’s pushing back on fire-based service
Dash-cam footage showed the driver struggling to stay awake and appearing to nod off
The teen failed to stop at an intersection and ran into the side of the ambulance, which “failed to exercise care to avoid colliding with a person riding a bicycle”
440 Louisiana residents filed claims that they were overcharged by Acadian Ambulance for services sometime in the last two decades
The lawsuit alleges Kansas City, Mo. officials refused overtime compensation to EMS professionals that went through a firefighting training course
He was found with supplies that included bed sheets and towels, 47 latex gloves, oxygen tubing, pulse oximeters, 15 packages of lubricant and a bloody syringe
Chris and Kelly also talk about the 911 dispatcher who has come under fire for her brusque replies to a woman who called to report a rape
The events we experienced early in our career can now help us empathize with those going through similar situations
They’re suspected of selling $500,000 worth of ambulances and EMS property between 2008 to 2012, and using the money for something other than the nonprofit squad
He was quickly hustled into a hallway when lawyers showed a video of the two men who went to prison for beating him
The board made 27 recommendations to prevent future disasters; most of the fault lies with Asiana and its pilots
The ruling signals an end to a wrongful death lawsuit alleging Target was liable for a customer’s cardiac arrest death because it didn’t have one of the devices
“Ma’am, you’re going to have to quit crying so I can get the information from you,” she said
The filmmaker said he had permission shoot footage of an oil rig accident on an ambulance ride along; the ambulance company says he didn’t and is taking him to court to prevent its use
Regardless of the law, there most likely will be a community expectation to render care when a person is in need
Chris and Kelly also discuss why Medicare officials are temporarily blocking Philadelphia-area ambulance companies from becoming eligible for reimbursements
Stow’s attorneys have argued this has no bearing on the case, and say the attack that left him brain damaged resulted from inadequate security and lighting
Mark Powell was sentenced to 3 1/2 years behind bars; a 22-year-old unconscious woman said she woke up to him touching her
Medicare officials temporarily blocked any new Philadelphia-area ambulance companies from becoming eligible for Medicare payments
The attorney general’s investigators believe that nearly $500,000 was misspent between 2008 and 2012 by members of the nonprofit organization
Joyce Garrard, 49, is trying to prevent jurors from finding out she misled first responders and medical workers about what happened to her granddaughter
Former owner Frank McCourt said that a quality and safe fan experience is a core value of the Dodgers
EMS can’t control the health care finance system, but providers should remain vigilant against fraud in their own business
About 37 operators claimed an average of 50 trips or more per patient, collecting more than $46.5 million from Medicare for non-emergency transports
Chris and Kelly also discuss why two EMTs are being sued by a woman who claims one of the workers improperly removed her teenage daughter’s clothing
He’s accused of falsifying county reimbursement forms for training classes and travel-related expenses
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