EMT Sued for "WIDE LOAD" and pic tweet

[emt2359]

Summary:

EMT Tweets pic with caption "Wide Load" and is now being sued.....

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-emt-sued-wide-load-tweet-woman-article-1.1460381

And discuss....

[island emt]

The cow in the photo should have a escort chase vehicle with flashing lights.

As the article said she was not identified until she went to a land shark and made herself public information.

How that humiliated her and is keeping her homebound is a joke.

Being so fat she won't fit through doorways is keeping her homebound.

Don't like being called fat::: stop eating so much and burn more calories than you shove in your pie hole.

Yeah I know :: We are supposed to be caring, warm & fuzzie when it comes to these folks.

I'm getting old and don't have too any more.

When you need to get ramps and powered winches fitted into ambulances to move these folks then it's not me with the problem.

[Just Plain Ruff]

You know, I tend to say that PC is just that Crap. So he shouldn't have posted it but seriously, this lady is just milking this "shame and defeat thing" to it's utter end.

I'm betting that none of her friends saw his picture.

I don't really feel sorry for her. I think she's just playing the victim.

I have to go get some tissues.

I do feel sorry for the guy, he did get fired. I'll bet he doesn't post anything like this again though.

[chbare]

Was this taken on the job? I suspect as much? Clearly, this is a major violation and the photograph had enough information to allow people to publically identify the patient in question. I do not know much about the civil aspect of this case, but the ex-EMT clearly did something that he should not have done. Victim card discussion aside, we as providers simply should not be posting these kinds of things or we had best be prepared to deal with civil and possible criminal consequences. Patients, regardless of their lifestyle choices should not have to worry about their health care providers posting this kind of stuff on social media sites.

Outside of the health care environment, such as what is found in some of the people of WalMart photos, you are probably going to have a good discussion about being in the public and constitution issues, but taking pictures on the job and posting them to social media sites with perjorative statements is not koser.

[Just Plain Ruff]

I absolutely agree that if he took this on the job that it was not cool. I also think that hospitals are totally off limits for photos of any sorts. There is just too much of a chance for you to get a patient in your photo.

The wheelchair and the person are obviously in a hospital, she's in a gown and the wheelchair has a oxygen bottle on it. That is what makes taking the photo wrong.

but seriously, she's not even as fat as some of those who would normally fill that type of wheelchair.

If he did it on the job, then he should have been disciplined. I'll bet he didn't get fired until the lawsuit was filed though.

And apparantly if this photo is not enough, he's also accused of racial tweets as well.

Edited September 19, 2013 by Captain ToHellWithItAll

[triemal04]

Clearly, this is a major violation and the photograph had enough information to allow people to publically identify the patient in question.

Really, like what? While the patient may have been able to realize who it was from looking at a photo of the back of her head, it's not likely that a random person would be able to identify the subject; without the quote it's actually hard to say for certain if the subject is a male or female. I also don't see anything that would indicate where or when this picture was taken.

The wheelchair and the person are obviously in a hospital, she's in a gown and the wheelchair has a oxygen bottle on it. That is what makes taking the photo wrong.

Why? Why does the fact that an oxygen bottle is present (and in use) matter? And really, that does not look like a hospital gown so much as it does a dress, or shirt.

Granted, in this day and age people really ought to be using a bit more common sense when it comes to social media, especially since the courts have consistently sided with employers who discipline (ie fire) employees who act like morons on facebook or twitter.

Also have to wonder if the lady in question will sue the New York Daily News...you know...since they posted the same photo...

[Just Plain Ruff]

OK looking at the shirt/gown does indeed look more like a shirt but who knows where the picture was taken but if it was taken in a hospital that's just bad form. I mean all he had to do was go down to his local walmart or local grocery store and snap a couple of pictures and post them. Walmart is a treasure trove of picture taking nirvana.

I dont' really give a shit whether he gets fired or not, I think he made a stupid mistake and he's surely paying for it.

What concerns me more is the last sentence of the story is that he's also been accused of racist tweets.

But all in all, he only got fired because she's suing the department, the city and him.

[island emt]

one must ALWAYS be willing to take the risk of loss of something when making any commentary in life.

[Just Plain Ruff]

Yes true true true Island, You have to be willing to accept the consequences of your actions. His consequences were getting sued and then fired.

I personally think she's playing the victim card but that's just me.

If he was willing to post it he should accept the results. I'll bet he was basking in all the pithy comments that he received from all his friends but I wonder if all those so called friends are supporting him now???

Edited September 20, 2013 by Captain ToHellWithItAll

[iStater]

_{Also have to wonder if the lady in question will sue the New York Daily News...you know...since they posted the same photo...}

Unfortunately by the time the NY Daily got the photo this had already gone viral early this year in the Social Media networks. It was also lumped into NY's other photos which created headlines. Chances are this lady was contacted by EMS and the fire department during that investigation. Once the lady filed, much of the information had been made public. I also believe there was a statement released about what not to do and this is being used in many training sessions in health care. Most privacy laws by State and institutions are written as "which might give the identity of the person". It does not have to be a name or SS#. If this was your loved one and this hit the media in your area, there is a good chance you will recognize them. Some can recognize a person at a distance just by their standing position. In this case you also have race as an issue. I only read a few of the posts when the photo first hit the media and stopped in disgust. But, regardless of skin color this was not appropriate for a health care worker of any license. If this was a random person with no health care license then there might not be such consequences. But, once you get a license in health care, regardless of its level there is some expectation to the patient and the public that you will conduct yourself in an ethical and professional manner.

If this had been a nurse, the BON would already have been involved. Nursing takes this very serious regardless if that person is still a patient. If this person had been this EMT's patient or within the walls of any medical facility, this is just plain unprofessional. Also, with all the GPS coding on photos by many cameras and cellphones, it is not difficult to determine the location and when it was taken.

https://www.ncsbn.org/NCSBN_SocialMedia.pdf

Edited September 20, 2013 by iStater