EMS Litigation Before Starting Med School?

[EMTrepidation]

Hello,

I am a Texas resident who has received a pre-match offer from a Texas school for the upcoming (2015) Fall. I am also EMT-B certified and have been working at a private ambulance company for the past several weeks. Throughout my work experience, I have heard of numerous lawsuits against the company, and been told by the higher-ups that if your name is listed in any litigation, you will essentially be blacklisted from any sort of healthcare work for life.

I have known of several "incidents" where a patient was dropped during transfer from the bed, or the cot tipped over with the pt on it, and then the pt subsequently sues the EMT/company. I want to do EMS because I enjoy working with patients and I feel like it has helped me become a better leader in stressful situations, but I don't know if I'm putting myself at severe risk of losing my shot a medical school if a freak accident happens. In many of the incidents I've seen, the EMS personnel are following protocol to a T, and these are legitimately freak accidents that no one could really prevent. Regardless, the patients suffer and lawyers get involved and people get sued.

I have already been accepted into a medical school and I'm afraid that if something like that happens to me, and my name goes into some litigation because a patient decides to sue, that the medical school will see this and decide that I'm too much of a liability and reject my application. I've looked everywhere for some insight into whether I should be worried or start trying to find a new job. Is this a baseless, neurotic fear, or should I start filling out new job applications?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[intangible]

If they're telling you that litigation is something that has historically been an issue, I'd be inclined to believe them. You've been matched, you're only a few short months from your first semester—I'd start looking for a new position housed within a larger facility that is publicly owned. It really does not logically follow to take the risk.

 

[EParker37]

Unless that private is a large well known company, get out now. Seriously, you are already in, go find a position as an ER tech, or move into retail or something less likely to end in litigation. No sense hanging your hat with a small, already litigated EMS company, that could also have other nonsense going on in the background. Take it from someone else from TX who has seen careers derailed by these two-bit operations and go someplace else.

 

[EMTrepidation]

Thank you guys for your responses!
I've been considering this for the past three weeks and it's got me very worried. Because of this fear, I've been obsessively cautious every time I load/unload or transfer patients, but it's just that fear in knowing that if there's one little slip up, it may mean goodbye medical school. At this point in the game, I think it's too late to be jeopordizing my spot in a good school. I'm going to put my two-weeks notice in today.

 

[EParker37]

Thank you guys for your responses!
I've been considering this for the past three weeks and it's got me very worried. Because of this fear, I've been obsessively cautious every time I load/unload or transfer patients, but it's just that fear in knowing that if there's one little slip up, it may mean goodbye medical school. At this point in the game, I think it's too late to be jeopordizing my spot in a good school. I'm going to put my two-weeks notice in today.

And honestly, if you aren't enjoying your time in EMS, then it isn't worth it. When I was on the box, we always had fun, we were serious when we needed to be, but it was always an enjoyable experience. If you are constantly fearful and not having fun, there are better things you could do before you head into medical school. Enjoy the time you have now, before you are studying 10 hours a day.

 

[Psai]

Not worth it. People sue over the stupidest things. I've heard from a lawyer of a doctor being sued because they talked to the patient's belly in a condescending manner

 

[nm825]

Would an accepted student really be kicked out of medical school for impending EMS litigation? What if they lost their license for, say, not following proper protocol when giving a medication. If they weren't and go through school, are they going to have difficulties finding a residency?

 

[EMTrepidation]

Not worth it. People sue over the stupidest things. I've heard from a lawyer of a doctor being sued because they talked to the patient's belly in a condescending manner

A condescending manner? Seriously?! Honestly, I'm not surprised, people are crazy. I talked to my boss and put in my two weeks today, and he understood. I enjoy the actual ride with the patient, especially the ones you get to know and are really nice. I also enjoy writing the reports and driving the ambulance.

A while back, we had to maneuver a 400+ lb patient into his bedroom, and of course the angles were sharp and the hallway was narrow. Another crew joined in to assist us. Well we got the pt into his double-wide wheelchair and the medic and another EMT were wheeling him around the corner (The doorway was too narrow for all of us to fit so me and the other EMT were waiting around the corner in the room), and the pt started wiggling in his seat and slipped out the front of it. We ended up getting him to his bed finally and the paramedic did a trauma assessment and didn't find anything wrong. I know I didn't have anything to do with the fall physically, and really the medic and EMT with the wheelchair were doing everything they could and following protocol, but when someone that big starts squirming around, it's like trying to battle gravity. So far, I haven't heard anything since but it still keeps me up at night.

What I'm curious about though is what medical schools' stances are on this sort of thing. If your name was brought up in a case, do you think they would examine it holistically and get your side of the story, or would they immediately view you as a liability and give your spot to one of the other 5,000 equally qualified applicants? I've been trying to find some precedent online but so far haven't found anything.

Thank you guys so much for your responses. As I'm sure you can tell, this is my first post on SDN so I hope I'm don't sound ridiculous. I truly appreciate you taking the time to answer my question.

 

[beachside]

Without a lawyer that specializes in healthcare malpractice to tell you that there's no risk, I'd have to advise you to play it safe and assume that the risk is real. The wage you're going to earn over the next 6 months is going to be inconsequential in comparison to your future physician salary anyway. Just keep your head down and avoid getting into trouble, and we'll see you in med school in a few months.

 

[Deranged Medic]

Hello,

I am a Texas resident who has received a pre-match offer from a Texas school for the upcoming (2015) Fall. I am also EMT-B certified and have been working at a private ambulance company for the past several weeks. Throughout my work experience, I have heard of numerous lawsuits against the company, and been told by the higher-ups that if your name is listed in any litigation, you will essentially be blacklisted from any sort of healthcare work for life.

I have known of several "incidents" where a patient was dropped during transfer from the bed, or the cot tipped over with the pt on it, and then the pt subsequently sues the EMT/company. I want to do EMS because I enjoy working with patients and I feel like it has helped me become a better leader in stressful situations, but I don't know if I'm putting myself at severe risk of losing my shot a medical school if a freak accident happens. In many of the incidents I've seen, the EMS personnel are following protocol to a T, and these are legitimately freak accidents that no one could really prevent. Regardless, the patients suffer and lawyers get involved and people get sued.

I have already been accepted into a medical school and I'm afraid that if something like that happens to me, and my name goes into some litigation because a patient decides to sue, that the medical school will see this and decide that I'm too much of a liability and reject my application. I've looked everywhere for some insight into whether I should be worried or start trying to find a new job. Is this a baseless, neurotic fear, or should I start filling out new job applications?

I find it hard to believe you could lose your position in medical school due to an honest mistake, like accidentally dropping a patient. However, working at an organization known for being sued—this sounds like a serious liability.

 

[giantswing]

I find it hard to believe you could lose your position in medical school due to an honest mistake, like accidentally dropping a patient.

Heh.