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.
“When the prosecutor sees and hears compassion, competence and professionalism, even in the face of significant errors being made, it becomes much harder to justify filing criminal charges”
Why right-sizing EMS response is crucial to increasing pay and improving work-life balance
Our co-hosts recount the EMS stories that generated the most debate on the podcast during the year; do you agree with their conclusions?
Attorney General Chris Carr filed a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors for their alleged role in fueling the opioid crisis
Host Ginger Locke offers tips for active listening and asking thoughtful questions
Ricardo Kendle, who had just been released from jail, allegedly “became irate” and tried to pull a paramedic out of an ambulance
Heather Jacobson was suspended from ResCare Home Care and is under investigation for allegedly practicing beyond the scope of her license
The culture, good or bad, EMS leaders cultivate can make or break an EMS agency
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission draft report has active shooter survival recommendations for EMS, police and school leaders
Peter Graff, a member of the Boone County Fire Protection District, was suspended pending an internal investigation into a problematic social media post
The new law states that any first responder diagnosed with PTSD will be eligible for worker’s compensation
Kellie Cline faces multiple charges after allegedly punching an EMT in the back of the head during a medical call
Our co-hosts continue their discussion with EMS1 columnist and defense attorney David Givot on the impact medical marijuana has in EMS
Lawrence Vanburen-Morgan will be spending between three days and six months in prison after crashing into an ambulance and injuring two EMTs and a patient
Police said a driver sideswiped an ambulance and smashed into a cruiser in the parking lot of an apartment complex where a fire broke out
Ali Acevedo expressed her thoughts on Jose Gonzalez before a Bronx Supreme Court hearing where a decision on his mental fitness for trial was delayed
Embracing conflict can help a fire/EMS organization’s team mature and increase organizational productivity
Reports said paramedic Amy Sherlock had acquired nude photos of co-workers and planned to use them as “insurance” in case she ever needed to get out of trouble
A data-driven approach can be applied to determine the value of a community paramedic intervention for specific types of frequent EMS transports
Amy Sherlock allegedly admitted that she had photos of four of her colleagues, and her coworker claimed she said they were for “insurance”
Patrick Stein’s family sued the ambulance service and hospital, alleging that the paramedics who transported him were not informed he was a psychiatric patient
Mike McConnell was suspended for four days for taking a photo and video of a patient in 2016, and Kevin Murphy was suspended for 10 days for distributing them
The patient was in his restraints for about 20 minutes before breaking free and hijacking the ambulance, leading police on a lengthy chase
Colby VanWagoner pleaded guilty to stealing vials of morphine from ambulances and replacing them with watered-down solutions
A lawyer suing Dr. Jennifer Jones said she should have called 911 and told the ambulance to rush patient Christie Miville to the hospital with lights and sirens
Officials said Joshua Patterson, 21, found the 15-year-old patient on Snapchat and sent her sexually explicit photos of himself
James Perry pleaded guilty to driving under the influence while responding to a suspected drowning
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Mario Thompson was arrested after authorities say his false call about an active shooter put an area hospital on an hours-long lockdown
Nyema Jackson’s family is suing both West Tennessee Healthcare and Deborah Schichtel, who was driving the ambulance at the time of the crash
NIOSH line of duty death investigation recommendations for conducting welfare checks are applicable to every EMS agency
An investigation into the 2016 fatal shooting of John Ulmschneider found responders were not warned of the possibility of guns on scene
London police said the former London Ambulance Service trainee “went rogue” after failing his paramedic exams
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