Claims against a paramedic ambulance service: a ten-year experience.
Liability claims made against Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies are a source of significant anxiety, time expenditure, and often monetary loss. Past literature reviewing EMS liability has been limited in scope. In this study, all claims made against an urban 911 ambulance service, whether or not a lawsuit resulted, were analyzed for the 10-year period ending in 1993. Eighty-two claims resulting in 11 lawsuits were filed. Motor vehicle accidents involving an ambulance produced the overwhelming majority (72%) of claims and 53% of the dollars paid out. Medical negligence claims were few but were the next largest cause of dollars lost (35%). Review of all legal claims may be used to help guide risk management efforts.
Colwell
C B
CB
Denver Affiliated Residency in Emergency Medicine, Denver Health Medical Center, Colorado 80204, USA.
Pons
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P
Blanchet
J H
JH
Mangino
C
C
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000552:Ambulances; D003120:Colorado; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D016365:Liability, Legal / Q000191:economics*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014505:Urban Population