Ambulance accident, am I liable?

[emtgrimreaper]

I work for a transport company and I have a problem. One of our emt's was hit from behind while stopped at a traffic light in one of our ambulances. The owner told the lady no harm, then is trying to make the emt pay for repair cost for the bumper. Is this normal or should the emt get legal help with this. The owner did not want the law involved.

[crotchitymedic1986]

EMT loses either way. If he/she hires a lawyer, he/she will be fired, and if your region is like most, the EMS gossip machine will let all employers know that this is a sue-happy employee. Under what circumstances is the owner claiming the EMT was at fault ?

[emtgrimreaper]

I don't know because he was stopped at a light.

[Chief1C]

If the vehicles were drivable, you don't need the law involved. Just your insurance companies. If they don't want insurance involved..

Get a new job. Quick.

The owner of your service is hiding something.

[crotchitymedic1986]

Very wrong. YOU ALWAYS NEED AN ACCIDENT REPORT. Perfect example: My brotherlaw drives 18-wheeler and was involved in an accident where everyone slammed on brakes, he bumped a minivan. The minivan already had heavy damage to the rear from another accident. His bumping of the vehicle caused the taped-on taillight to fall out of its frame. All agreed no damage, no need for cops. Two weeks later, the minivan driver sued my brother in law and the trucking company for over $15,000 in damage to vehicle, and injuries sustained. He didnt have any pictures, and the trucking company had to pay every cent (self insured).

Anytime you are in an ambulance accident, you need a full report and pictures, to protect you. When that driver gets home and starts telling the story of the accident, someone in the family will advise them about how they can make a quick $5k, by suing the company.

[Dustdevil]

Very wrong. YOU ALWAYS NEED AN ACCIDENT REPORT.

What you "need" and what you actually get are two completely different things. Many law enforcement agencies stopped doing reports on minor accidents decades ago. If they even show up, they will only hand you a blue form for you to fill out yourself and send in to the state, so they can put it on your driving record, which is exactly what most drivers (and the boss in this case) are trying to avoid.

In a big city -- if they do actually do reports on minor accidents -- you'll wait a couple hours for an officer to show up. Most people won't sit on the side of the road that long for a pointless report, when they're already late for work.

As for the OP, this is not a winnable scenario. Your friend can pay to keep his minimum wage job, or he can tell the owner to F-off and go find another minimum wage job, and hope the bad reference doesn't hurt him. Personally, I recommend kicking the boss' arse. The fine is no worse than the cost of the vehicle repairs, and the satisfaction is great.

[crotchitymedic1986]

True dust, thats why I said "Incident Report", not Police Report. But having the police called out is a good thing if it is available to you. You (or your supervisor) should take lots of pictures, and write down all the information, and witness information that you can.

[crotchitymedic1986]

Before your friend does anything, you need to research your company's policy and procedure manual. If your partner was "at-fault", the policy may well state that he/she is liable for the incident. I knew of several companies that deducted repairs from backing accidents or clipped mirrors from the driver's check, instead of doing the standard write-up/suspension.

[BushyFromOz]

Ambulance stopped at red light gets it up the ass by another car = Ambulance not at fault

Your road/traffic legislation surely would cover this one????

[Richard B the EMT]

1) I agree the statement of the owner of the company is hiding something is probably correct.

2) I was tail ended in New Jersey, while driving an ambulance registered in New York, while returning with no patient aboard. The other driver didn't want to involve the Bergen County (NJ) PD, but I wanted to make sure that everything was done correctly, as my ambulance, as already stated, as well as myself as driver, were from New York, out of state for the other driver. The LEO was hesitant, but saw it my way, eventually.

2-A) At the end of that calendar year, I got a nasty-gram from the New Jersey State Police Headquarters, asking if I was going to report the accident that the other driver had filed paperwork on. I had to advise them that a report was filed with the Bergen County PD, taken by the responding officer, and as such, I was not delinquent in filing, but had, via the LEO, filed the report less than an hour after the incident!

2- Just as a family car, the Bergen County Cop Car was so nicely set up, so much better than the NYPD cars used at that time. Had to say it!