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.
Firefighters and paramedics often take images on calls. How long should such images be retained, and why?
The first firefighter-influencer of the modern era shares how his early speaking nerves transformed into a love of making comedy videos
Leaders make decisions that affect individual employees and the organization as a whole. Who do you look to as a leader?
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
The EMT was stabbed seven times in the abdomen and legs and a second EMT driving the ambulance was pepper-sprayed
Justin H. Ryan refused to follow police orders and recorded paramedics treating a patient with his cellphone
If an EMS provider’s diminished capacity prevents them from performing the job’s essential functions or puts anyone’s safety at risk, consider reasonable accommodations
Even when we as healthcare providers must deliver hard truths, there can be an intimacy and a human connection that comes with honesty in the worst of circumstances
Megan Mull cites a “toxic and dangerous environments” as reasons for her departure
Eric Stanke, 34, was arraigned for charges that include possession of a controlled substance and two counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud
Daviess County Judge-Executive Al Mattingly requested a study be conducted on the feasibility of consolidating regional 911 dispatch centers into one center
FDNY officials reviewed the leaked reports on the message board and are confident that the information was not posted by a first responder
The lawsuit states that “defendants acted recklessly and with deliberate indifference in failing to protect Kyle Plush, causing him to suffer greatly before his death”
