I am now a statistic.

[CBEMT]

Are we talking "kkk" standards as law or some other source? Please include if possible.

Well, for starters, every cot manufacturer there is puts it plain as day in the owner's manual that the cot should not even be raised to load height without all 5 straps being secured. Feel free to use a medical device contrary to manufacturer's specifications, just be prepared to explain why you're smarter than the manufacturer in court.

Second, and more importantly, was a federal lawsuit filed against a private ambulance service who killed a patient during a non-emergency transfer when the patient was thrown forward off the stretcher during a collision. The family argued that under the federal Common Carrier statue, the ambulance company failed to provide the "highest level of protection possible" to the deceased. The judge agreed, and concluded in his written opinion that patients should be secured against "lateral and longitudinal movement" during transport. (I may not have the exact quote correct, but it's pretty damn close.)

Unfortunately, I was turned onto this case on another EMS forum, and so far today (prior to this post) I've been unable to find the case summary that I saw before (a few years back). If anybody wants to take a crack at it, the defendant should be Alert Ambulance, and I believe the case was filed in Rhode Island.

Edited November 30, 2009 by CBEMT