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 national survey reveals EMS economic and operations redesigns that would have been considered heresy just years ago
Sometimes people will only judge you or your agency by the quality of your report, so take the time to do it right, and check your work!
Advocating for “a little bit more money, a little bit more protection and a little bit more rights for EMS providers”
A preliminary review found the Kubicek balloon made a hard landing, and the pilot and four passengers were thrown from the gondola
After the plaintiffs filed grievances, Commissioner Nicole Carlton and the city admitted race and gender were factors when switching shifts for captains
Sackler family members urged governments to sign on to the settlement terms, saying it will fund solutions to the crisis rather than continue “endless litigation”
The report would likely not address the fire’s cause, but the agency may issue urgent safety recommendations
Lumberton officials acknowledged their employees were in the video and called the incident a “serious error in judgment”
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed the legislation, which is meant to ensure future generations understand the 9/11 terrorist attacks and their place in history
The American flag, raised by NYC firefighters at Ground Zero shortly after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, was discovered years later in Washington state
A Med-Star ambulance was responding to a call of a four-year-girl that sustained a gunshot wound to the chest when the path her house was blocked
One of the women said in her lawsuit that she lost her unborn child hours after James Walley raped her in the back of an ambulance
The two men got into an argument with the head nurse at a hospital and ran back to the ambulance demanding the FDNY EMTs to give them a ride to another hospital
A hazmat incident at a California hotel left one person dead and nine people hospitalized when guests reported smelling a chemical odor
A phased approach to adopting the four pillars of a successful safety management system leads to provider safety and a just culture
EMS Chief Ernesto M. Rodriguez shares insights from the City of Austin EMS Department Assault Survey
Police released audio of a former 911 dispatcher scolding a frantic newspaper delivery woman for driving into floodwaters
Knox County Judge and Executive Mike Mitchell said this resolution is being adopted across the Commonwealth
Ruth “Roxy” Rookstool, 59, was arrested on theft and fraud crimes for stealing from the Morrisville Ambulance Squad
The order functions as statewide prescription enabling all Washington residents and organizations to go to any pharmacy to get naloxone
The city of Apopka has also filed a lawsuit against National EMS Billing alleging fraud, breach of contract and unjust enrichment
Paramedic Craig Wohlitka testified last year that he and other paramedics were haunted by the patients’ deaths
In 2018, Elizabeth Neal experienced congestive heart failure and an ambulance did not arrive on the scene until an hour after the call went out
Jai Ginn, wife of Bradley Ginn Sr., filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the parties violated her civil rights to due process
U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. also ruled that the EMS division’s social media policy is overly broad and unconstitutional
Jeralyn Dougherty and Clint Green were sentenced to prison and ordered to pay more than $3.3 million in restitution to Medicare, Medicaid and the IRS
Lisa Gunn, 48, is charged with misdemeanor simple assault after a July 22 incident in which a man claims Gunn grabbed him and pulled him out of a truck
A court ruled that Paramedics Joseph Stracke and Stephanie Cisneros did not act in a grossly negligent way when they “inaccurately diagnosed and treated” Kerry Butler Jr.
First responders who have been assaulted need more counseling on what they can expect from the legal system, study says
Edward T. Stevenson allegedly cashed 132 checks from the ambulance service from January 2013 to March 2017
The lawsuit claims dispatchers failed to send help, even though 13 seconds into the call, the 911 system pinged Brian Wing’s location
Darion Bond, 19, stole the paramedic’s keys, wallet and phone at gunpoint before he got into the paramedic’s SUV and sped away
Heather Locklear faced five counts of battery on an officer, one count of battery on emergency personnel and two counts of resisting, obstructing or delaying an officer
