Standard of Care Podcast

In this episode, Samantha and Nick examine a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from a non-transport decision —a case that highlights how quickly routine calls can turn into high-stakes legal events. The discussion centers on the death of a 26-year-old man with type 1 diabetes and a seizure disorder who requested transport, was left at home, and was later found deceased. Using the language of the act...

When a paramedic in Kentucky faced a dying patient and a vial of antivenom, he had to make a split-second decision that could save a life… or end his career. In this episode of The Standard of Care Podcast , hosts Samantha Johnson and Nick Adams unpack one of the most talked-about EMS legal stories of the year: a paramedic who administered a rare antivenom under physician direction, only to find h...

When does doing nothing become negligence? In this gripping episode of The Standard of Care Podcast , hosts Samantha Johnson and Nick Adams explore two real-world legal cases in which EMS providers were sued—not for what they did but for what they didn’t do. The central issue is the failure to forcibly enter a residence during a medical alert activation and its devastating consequences. This conve...

What happens when a determination of death GOES WRONG? In this episode of the Standard of Care Podcast, hosts Samantha Johnson and Nick Adams break down a real and heartbreaking case where EMS medics declared a 14-year-old patient deceased—only for him to be resuscitated at the hospital nearly an hour later. The fallout? A legal battle that made its way to the Supreme Court, and a patient left wit...

In this episode of The Standard of Care Podcast , Samantha Johnson and Nick Adams tackle a harrowing real-life EMS case involving a catastrophic ambulance fire in Honolulu, Hawaii. A routine oxygen tank switch turned deadly, sparking conversations around scene safety, equipment maintenance, and the legal standards EMS providers face. Explore the chilling details, from the moment the fire erupted t...

In this episode of The Standard of Care podcast, hosts Samantha Johnson and Nick Adams delve into the complex legal framework of patient consent in EMS. What happens when a patient refuses care, even in life-threatening situations? How should EMS professionals navigate the fine line between consent, implied consent, and refusal, all while staying within the legal boundaries? Samantha quizzes Nick...

In this episode of The Standard of Care Podcast , Samantha Johnson and Nick Adams recount their journey from attending conferences to becoming conference speakers on critical medical-legal topics in EMS. They reflect on how these pivotal experiences shaped their current work. The episode dives into highlights from recent EMS conferences, such as South Carolina EMS, Metro Atlanta EMS, and FAST24, w...

It’s back-to-school time for the kids and for paramedics and EMTs, too!  Nick is planning to renew his certification.  But we know there will be a set of medical-legal questions on the National Registry exam, and he will be sure he’s prepared.  In this series, Nick and Samantha dive deeper into the medical-legal concepts commonly tested on the National Registry and help our listeners prepare to ta...

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!

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 with a possible susp...

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 employee on staff?  If...

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 the personnel i...

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 rare condition or negligence...

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.  The incident was...

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 implications of DNRs...

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 situation.  Please li...

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 the medics who may be at faul...

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 lead to jail time?  I...

On this episode of the Standard of Care Podcast, Nick and Samantha take a look at some of the liability issues surrounding the use of red lights and sirens.  What does the law allow the driver of an emergency vehicle to do?  What is “due regard”, anyway?  Are shorter response times making drivers more unsafe?  How does a plaintiff prove his or her case against the driver of an emergency vehicle, a...

On 8/22/2021, a Colorado grand jury handed down a 32-count criminal indictment against the police officers and EMS personnel involved in the incident that led to Elijah McClain’s death. On this episode of the Standard of Care, Nick and Samantha try to untangle what these indictments could mean for the EMS community. We reach out to our resident experts - former prosecutor (now business lawyer) Chr...

COVID-19 has strained the healthcare system to its breaking point. In this episode of the Standard of Care, Nick and Samantha are joined by Beth Sivertsen, Medical Ethicist and critical care nurse. We examine “crisis standards of care” and what those words mean for EMS. What are crisis standards of care? Who declares that they are in effect? What impact do crisis standards have on EMS providers’ l...

On this episode of the Standard of Care Podcast, Nick and Samantha take on the controversial topic of religious accommodations for the COVID-19 vaccines under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Can employees request religious exemptions from vaccinations? What is a “sincerely held religious belief”? What information should employees provide, and what can employers request? What is an “undu...

Fatigue in EMS isn’t new. Almost every EMT and paramedic has a story. So grab a coffee or an energy drink and join us as Nick and Samantha take a look at a recent case that happened in our own backyards. We consider the criminal and civil liabilities that fatigue creates for EMTs, paramedics, and EMS agencies. What can the tired EMT or paramedic do? What should agencies be doing to decrease the fa...

Intubations are risky business. Paramedics – and their patients – benefit from the right tools, education, and training. But when does “practicing intubations” become an issue of legal liability? On this episode of the Standard of Care Podcast, Nick and Samantha review the case of the Bellingham, Washington fire department’s intubation practice on a deceased patient. The incident spawned several l...

On this episode of the Standard of Care Podcast, Nick and Samantha try to help EMS providers make sense of one of the most widely known (yet least understood!) laws on the books, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). What is the law meant to address? Is EMTALA different for hospital-based and non-hospital-based EMS providers? Can your ambulance be parked at the ER ramp, or your p...