An eight-year review of legal cases related to an urban 9-1-1 paramedic service.
BACKGROUND
An eight year retrospective analysis was conducted to determine the type and outcome of lawsuits related to the provision of 9-1-1 paramedic service in an urban environment.


METHODS
For the evaluation period of May 1986 to March 1994, all litigation cases related to Ambulance Service or paramedics were collected and analyzed. This urban 9-1-1 Paramedic Service has an estimated call volume of > 60,000 assignments resulting in > 30,000 patient encounters during the evaluation period.


RESULTS
Seven lawsuits were filed against the service. No lawsuits were related to tardy response, failure to transport, or patient care negligence of any kind. All of the litigation was related to motor vehicle collisions (MVC).


CONCLUSIONS
The data suggest that motor vehicle collisions are a significant medical-legal risk to the EMS community. In addition, it was found that the use and lack of use of seatbelts was an important component in many of the suits.
Maguire
B J
BJ
George Washington University EMS Degree Program, Washington, DC 20037, USA. maguire@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu
Porco
F V
FV
D000488:Allied Health Personnel / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008318:Malpractice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009519:New York City; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014505:Urban Population