Do Not Respond to an EMSA Investigation Phone Call without EMS Guardian
Most Fire Department employees never have to deal with coming under investigation by the Local EMS Authority or State EMS Authority. When they do, it is a confusing and terrifying experience which could have significant ramifications on their entire career.
If you are an EMT, Paramedic or Fire Fighter, if you are ever told to contact an investigator with the EMSA, be sure that you first contact an experienced EMS Guardian panel attorney at Goyette & Associates. Even though it may seem as simple as returning a phone call, EMSA investigators are not your friends. They often have a strategic plan on what they are going to ask you, how they are going to do it, and are prepared to use your statements against you if you give the wrong answers.
In many cases, the EMS authorities have agreed that even if the individual in question is not a firefighter, that they will extend the rights and protections under the Fire Fighters Procedural Bill of Rights to any licensee under investigation. This means that they are (1) required to provide you a notice of the scope of the investigation and (2) afford you a right to a representative before any questioning. This gives you the critical opportunity to understand the nature of the questioning and to prepare yourself to answer in the best possible way.
The EMSA investigator is not necessarily going to acknowledge you have these rights and will almost certainly not go out of their way to advise you of them. Your first reaction to any inquiry or phone call by the EMSA (no matter what you might think it is about) should be to always contact both your union representatives and EMS Guardian legal counsel at Goyette & Associates.
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