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.
There is a groundswell of support to change how lights and sirens are used in EMS to reduce risk to ambulance crews, patients and others
A recent poll found that nearly 70% of those who responded hold either a bachelor’s or master’s degree in an EMS-related field
Qualified immunity protection varies from state to state. Do you know yours?
EMS providers have a duty to make a good faith effort to provide competent, efficient and compassionate emergency care to everyone and anyone in need
Dashcam video captured two young men joking, checking their phones and smoking while driving in the stolen vehicle
He will be suspended for 90 days without pay after suggesting overdose victims die and calling Narcan the worst drug ever created
A recent Illinois court ruling claims responders will no longer have immunity from lawsuits brought by individuals who accuse them of not providing the proper level of response
In two separate incidents in recent days paramedics on duty were robbed at gunpoint
The firefighter called Narcan the worst drug ever created and suggested letting overdose victims die
An investigation calls into question the training 23 firefighters received
A snake bit a boy at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, leading to the death of the boy’s grandmother
Responders will no longer have blanket immunity from lawsuits brought by individuals who accuse them of not providing the proper level of protection or response
The former EMS director and his wife were arrested after an audit uncovered the missing funds
The woman died from a blood clot in her lung; two relatives were charged with neglect
Kyle Juarez, 37, was killed in a Skylife air ambulance helicopter crash in December
Mark Pruitt arrested for killing Pulaski Volunteer Fire Department Lt. Jason Adams, 29, who was responding to a medical emergency call
Mark Van Arnam has been in the ambulance business for over 45 years, and is looking forward to some new challenges
There are clinical, customer satisfaction and political reasons for delivering rapid and efficient response to all call types
The 10-year paramedic told police he stole two vials of Dilaudid with the intention of killing himself
Use a comprehensive social media policy to set expectations for appropriate social media use on duty and off the job
These 10 ingredients will help every EMS agency succeed in the year ahead
Every ambulance provider should review and update their billing and claims policies and procedures
‘Free from Harm,’ a new report from the National Patient Safety Foundation makes follow-up recommendations to the IOM ‘To Err is Human’ report
How other volunteer organizations in the community leverage their size while still acting and feeling local
Preservation of evidence and scene documentation can help bring the guilty to justice and also ensure an innocent person is not wrongly convicted
Paul Pelton opened the car door and filmed a dying teen instead of helping
Chief Eric Tade was stabbed in his hand and has a superficial injury to his right leg; a woman has been arrested in connection with the stabbing
Officials are calling for an investigation of the incident and demanding that the police officer be fired for his actions
The move comes after the committee refused to renew the license to practice of a paramedic who disclosed he had PTSD
For one minute and 15 seconds the dispatch center’s phone rang without answer
The female patient accused a Georgia EMT of touching her backside while she was being transported to a hospital
Terry Johnson fraudulently billed the federal health insurance programs for about seven years for transportation services when patients were not transported
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- Okla. ambulance stolen with patient inside