Case Against FDNY Coffee Break EMTs Dismissed
The lawsuit filed by the family of a pregnant woman who died in 2009 after two FDNY EMTs allegedly refused to help her because they were on a coffee break, has been dismissed. Eutisha Rennix suffered...
View ArticleLas Vegas Fire Questioned After Stabbing Death
Las Vegas Fire Rescue is coming under fire for not requesting a private ambulance company, AMR, to respond to a reported stabbing across from an AMR base two weeks ago. Despite the media saying a...
View ArticleThe Digital Age Meets the Duty To Act
Today’s burning question: I was in your class at FDIC 2014 on Duty to Act, which was a real eye-opener. We were discussing it in the station today and one of the paramedics mentioned a smartphone app...
View ArticleAED Reporting Requirements and Fire Departments
Today’s burning question: I heard that anyone who acquires an AED has to report it under federal, state and local law. Is that true and if so, to whom do I as fire chief, have to report it to? Answer:...
View ArticleYCMTSU Alabama: Medical Helicopter Cancellation
A man who was critically injured in an ATV accident in Alabama in 2013 has filed suit in federal court claiming a fire chief and a dispatcher were in part responsible his injuries because they...
View ArticleColorado Suit Over EMS Failure Prompts Questions
A recent headline about a wrongful death lawsuit in Colorado caught my eye in part because it appeared to involve an EMS incident gone wrong and in part because it appeared to involve a hospital...
View ArticleRefusal AMA Forms in Foreign Languages
Today’s burning question: Could a medic who fails to obtain an informed refusal from a patient who does not speak English be liable? Could the fire department be held liable for not providing refusal...
View ArticleLas Vegas Fire Facing Two Federal Court Wrongful Death Suits Over EMS Response
Las Vegas Fire & Rescue is facing two federal lawsuits alleging the city’s EMS dispatch policy was responsible for the deaths of two victims in 2014. The suits were brought on behalf of John...
View ArticleWrongful Death Suit filed in Detroit Failure To Act Case
The refusal of a Detroit EMT to respond to a home where an infant was not breathing has led to a wrongful death suit by the infant's mother. On May 30, 2015 EMT Ann Marie Thomas parked her unit on a...
View ArticleAlbuquerque Fire Investigating Why Dispatcher Hung Up on Caller
The Albuquerque Fire Department is investigating a firefighter who allegedly hung-up on a frantic 911 caller because the caller swore at him while CPR instructions were being given. Albuquerque...
View ArticleIllinois Abandons Public Duty Doctrine in Fire Department Case
In a split decision in a case involving a fire department, the Illinois Supreme court has taken the drastic step of abolishing the public duty doctrine in Illinois. The case involved a 911 call for a...
View ArticleMichigan City Sues Township Over Fire EMS Response Across The Street
Today’s burning question: There is a township fire station directly across the street from my property, but because the property is physically in the city, the township says they cannot respond....
View ArticleSt. Louis Fire Settles Public Records Suit For EMS Responses to Abortion Clinic
The St. Louis Fire Department has settled a public records lawsuit brought by activists seeking access to information about medical responses to a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic. The lawsuit was...
View ArticleIndiana Ambulance Company Sues County and Fire Departments
An Indiana ambulance company is suing a county and three fire departments over what it considers to be a breach of its provider agreement because the county is dispatching a fire department ambulance...
View ArticleDispatch Error Leads to Wrongful Death Suit in Illinois
The family of a woman who died last summer when an ambulance was dispatched to the wrong address, has filed suit against the dispatch center and an Illinois fire department. Laurelyn Wagner-Pitts, 60,...
View ArticleTwice Fired New Mexico Firefighter Sues County
A former Albuquerque firefighter who was fired for hanging up on a frantic 911 caller in 2015 because the caller swore at him, is filing suit against the Bernalillo County Fire Department who hired and...
View ArticleMississippi Family’s Lawsuit Claims AMR Ambulance Delay Caused Death
The daughters of a Mississippi woman who waited an hour for an ambulance to arrive have filed suit against American Medical Response, Hinds County, and the city of Jackson for wrongful death. Tameka...
View ArticleFDNY Ambulance Delay and NY Special Duty Rule
A lawsuit brought by the husband of a woman who died when an FDNY ambulance responding to her apartment was flagged down by police officers for another incident, has survived its first challenge,...
View ArticleCourt Rules Baltimore County EMS Not Liable for Patient’s Death
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals has upheld a lower court ruling that neither Baltimore County nor an EMS crew could be held liable for the death of a patient in 2015. Baltimore County Fire...
View ArticlePennsylvania Fire Department Sued for COVID-Related Wrongful Death
The family of a Pennsylvania woman who died from COVID on January 23, 2021, has filed suit against the local fire department and several providers claiming they failed to properly evaluate and...
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