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.
Governor signs bill prohibiting Arizona’s EMTs from persuading patients into not going to hospital
Know the four EQ skills that can help build your awareness and empathy
Improvement success comes from making the Model for Improvement a normal, regular System 1 part of the EMS organization
Here are six strategies to prevent drug diversion, part of the EMS profession’s important role in the fight against the opioid overdose epidemic
Excessive work hours, compassion fatigue and violence are contributing to an alarming increase in EMS caregiver suicide
Most EMS workplace conflicts are rooted in a mismatch between manager and employee understanding of responsibility, authority and accountability
Device obsession harms team building and personal communication, which hurts both EMS culture and performance
Apply leadership actions consistently and regularly to improve the morale in your EMS agency
The woman stole the ambulance while the crew was inside a medical center with a patient
An EMS lawyer replies to a California reader’s question about a duty to respond to a still alarm while en route to the hospital for a non-emergency discharge
The lawsuit alleges that the ambulance was “unreasonably delayed,” because crews were lost en route and drove to the wrong location
Paramedics responded to reports of an unconscious intoxicated female vomiting in a dorm
Rocky Allen was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison for stealing a syringe with the powerful painkiller from an operating room
Emergency responders asked the woman to step aside as they revived the man, but she did not comply
An Air Force veteran took a screenshot of the photo and comment and reported it to the department
The lawsuit spurred the creation of a new policy that requires personnel to undergo training on how to use heat packs
Destiny Noella McNeil, 19, pleaded no contest to felony charges of theft, fleeing and simple assault
James Burton had previously installed a dash camera to monitor his son’s driving
Eric Pracht, 25, vanished in July after a heated argument with friends at a party
State Child Protective Services investigators became involved after receiving a report of heroin use at the home 24-year-old Ashlee Hutt
Deputies say they found the 19-year-old making animal noises and biting a man’s face
A dozen female paramedics allege the department devised two new physical agility tests that are biased against women
The hospital also dealt with a drunk driver patient jumping out of an ambulance
Attorneys for the city have argued that releasing the remaining 911 calls to and from patrons inside the Pulse nightclub would violate an exemption to Florida’s public records law
The lawsuit alleges had the ambulance not gotten lost on the way to the call, a cardiac arrest victim would still be alive
Smartphone users who clicked on the virus link then watched as their phones became “hijacked,” and called 911 repeatedly
Assailants attempted to hit Ben Hampe with a 70-pound car jack in the head
The 21-year-old man had his leg amputated after a serious motorcycle crash earlier this year
Martin Gottesfeld claims the hospital hacking was to protest the treatment of a teenage patient caught up in a custody fight
Police and EMS responded to reports of a man walking around with a knife stuck in his back
The lawsuit alleges the paramedic committed gross negligence when wrapping the infant in a foil wrap and blankets
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