NJ EMT takes dispute to court

[rock_shoes]

New Jersey's Volleywhacker system has me baffled. It's like a separate universe void of all common sense. How has this continued?

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[Just Plain Ruff]

Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Maybe this guy taking this to court will finally get the New Jersey powers that be to take a look at the way they do things and say wow we really are the laughing stock of the USA and we need to revamp things.

I know I know pipe dream but hey in utopia which is "what New Jersey might one day be" it could happen.

From small problems come big changes sometimes.

You never know.

[ERDoc]

Nope, Ruff, I think it will go just the opposite. This will go to court, they will see this guy who is volunteering his time and his life to help others in need. How could anyone be so mean to someone who wants to risk his life and give his time to others? All he is doing is trying to help others with his amazing skills and education with no expectation of receiving anything in return (except for the load he drops in his shorts every time someone's tones go out).

[Just Plain Ruff]

Nope, Ruff, I think it will go just the opposite. This will go to court, they will see this guy who is volunteering his time and his life to help others in need. How could anyone be so mean to someone who wants to risk his life and give his time to others? All he is doing is trying to help others with his amazing skills and education with no expectation of receiving anything in return (except for the load he drops in his shorts every time someone's tones go out).

Like I said, this would probably only happen in Utopia.

But maybe it will take someone suing this freak of nature. Who will he have behind him to cover his rear end. I mean no one will back him for helping out these poor people. One of these days his number will come up and that number will be a court ordered settlement that he won't be able to pay but unfortunately the Ems agencies that cover where he works will also be named and they will get screwed as well.

I hope that their risk management people are teaching their providers what they need to do in documenting when they come on a scene with whicky whescue already there.

The state needs to jump in and cut this guy off at the ankles and be done with it but I'll bet that they don't really have the cojones to do that because as you said "he's a guy volunteering out of the goodness of his heart". Somewhere we've heard this before haven't we?

Just how did this get so bad in New Jersey??? NO NO NO DO NOT answer that question, it was rhetorical.

[paramedicmike]

New Jersey is certainly an odd place. It's kinda' like the California of the east coast in that people are waiting for the earth quake to send it drifting off to slowly sink in the ocean.

I'm actually rather surprised that there isn't a First Aid Council (the governing body for EMS in the State) rule stating that you must belong to a squad in order to respond to calls. It doesn't seem the legal battle has anything to do with his responding to calls, though. The way I read the article it sounds like this is simply an assault case that's going to trial and not specifically dealing with this guy's actions.

[ERDoc]

Not to beat a dead horse, but I sent the article to a friend of mine who is a volley ALS provider on Long Island and his response was pretty simple:

Holy crap...This guy is a nut.

[Eydawn]

I hope they revoke his licensure/certification. This is a classic case of not knowing your boundaries and not understanding the system. Actually, this behaviour sounds similar to a fellow I knew once... *shudder*...

Gak.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

[nypamedic43]

I was unable to read the article without subscribing to the online newspaper...so I am not sure what it contains. I did a search on the NJ EMT Basic scope of practice but couldnt find anything other than proposed changes to the basic scope of practice dated in 2002 and 2004. I also found a cert revocation order for a basic that administered epi in a cardiac arrest dated 2001.

I have always been of the understanding that the NJ EMS system is messed up. But since I can't read the article, I cant speak to just how messed up it really is.

[DwayneEMTP]

But see, that's kind of my point. If he's unassociated with an organization, and therefore a medical director, he has no scope of practice above any untrained person that chooses to stop and try to help..

[ERDoc]

But then the question is, is he doing anything above what a layperson would do (not directed at you Dwayne, just in general)? Is c-spine stabilization above the first aid level? If not, can anyone really say anything about it?