Standard of Care Podcast

Spencer and Chris bring in the big guns from the Standard of Care podcast, Samantha Johnson and Nick Adams! This episode is probably one of the most disturbing cases of neglect we've reviewed in a while, so you've been warned! FAST24 | June 10 - 12, 2024 | Wilmington, North CarolinaFAST24 is our annual conference for pre-hospital and critical care transport professionals, including

On a hot Texas summer day, Dallas Fire responded to a grass fire on the side of the road. Their subsequent encounter with a gentleman named Kyle Vess – all caught on surveillance camera - led to an ongoing lawsuit alleging “an abuse of power and a deliberate indifference to the life and welfare of the underprivileged in Dallas”. What is the role of paramedics when confronted

An employee commits a terrible crime – should the employer be liable? In this episode, we explore the nuances of negligent hiring, retention, supervision, and training. What does it mean for an employee to be “in the scope of employment” to allow their employer to be sued in the first place? When is an EMS agency responsible for its own negligence in keeping a problematic emp

Season 3 is here! The release of the police body camera footage in the cases of Earl Moore, Jr. in Springfield, Illinois and Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee show EMS personnel at their worst. In both cases, the providers failed to assess their patients and render proper treatment. In Illinois, these failures resulted in first degree murder charges; in Tennessee, the firings of t

It’s the stuff of nightmares and horror stories: the dead rising from the grave. On August 23, 2020, it happened in Michigan after a woman who was declared deceased by the responding EMS crew “woke up” in a funeral home. Her case has been described as an instance of “Lazarus Syndrome”, or “autoresuscitation after failed cardiopulmonary resuscitation”, but was it this

Dispatchers, call-takers, emergency communications officers – our 911 communications staff are our first first responders. They work to ensure that patients receive the right resources for their emergencies. But sometimes, it goes wrong. According to a recently filed lawsuit, a Pennsylvania dispatcher refused to send an ambulance to a patient, resulting in the patient’s death.

In April 2022, 81-year old Celeste Salanitri died twelve days after being resuscitated by paramedics. Unfortunately, she never wanted to be resuscitated in the first place. Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) laws – and the accompanying forms and rules – can be confusing. In this episode, Nick and Samantha explain what DNR is – and is not – and explore the legal, ethical and clinical

On this very special crossover episode, Nick and Samantha join Chris and Spencer on the EMS 20/20 podcast to enjoy a multi-layered case discussion peppered with legal issues. This one is full of exciting flavors: capacity, refusals, maybe a little kidnapping, and a potentially justified assault. Pull up a chair and join us as we serve up tips for handling a really difficult situati

We are now two years out from the beginning of “The Situation”, which means that it’s time for the lawsuits. In this episode, Nick and Samantha review a case from Klamath County, Oregon, where the alleged malpractice of the responding paramedics led to a woman’s death from complications of Covid. This case has some very sad – and shocking – facts. But it’s not just th

In late December 2017, Vanderbilt nurse RaDonda Vaught administered the wrong medication to a patient who subsequently died of an anoxic brain injury. On March 25, 2022, a Tennessee jury found her guilty of gross neglect of an impaired adult and criminally negligent homicide. Should providers – especially EMS providers – be worried that a medication error in the field could lea