HSE
paramedics would you help if you could, please?
if asked could you give evidence in a civil case. i know you do a hard enough job but whats your legal standing if your called to a building site to assess somebody who has collapsed on-site from exhaustion but the person who called for the ambulance and was pathetically trying to administer first aid and control the situation reeked of alcohol? and was clearly intoxicated. i'm the person that collapsed from exhaustion, the person who called the ambulance is a chronic alcoholic who drinks on site, vodka and beer. he was warned "internally" to stop! he's a danger to others and himself. but what pisses me off most is he cost me my job. i was given a clean bill of health from the hospital but subsequently paid off from work as i was a health risk!. months before this happened i was already onto the HSE about him, nobody else did bugger all. if asked would the paramedics that attended me give a signed statement? thank you. vikki: what i really mean is, are paramedics under any legal obligation to report anything that they may deem a health risk. i:e a person who is clearly intoxicated working on a building site. i'm sure paramedics are sick of having to cart people off building sites because of a very avoidable accident, this fella clocked another worker on the head with a scaffold bar which he was'nt trained for or authorized to remove.
Public Comments
- if asked, yes they could. the only thing that would stop a paramedic (legal wise) would patient confidentiality.. but since you were the patient that wouldn't be an issue. whatever you are going to do, do it fast. paramedics see many patients and the longer you wait the more their memory will deteriorate.
- You're best option is to contact the ambulance service involved and ask to speak to the police enquiries liaison officer. Have a talk to this person, or their equivalent, and they should be able to guide you as to if this can be done or not. I do know of paramedics that have been involved in civil cases, but I don't know if that was in the same capacity as you are asking.
- I wuld like to help you but your question is a bit confusing. Pleas reword it and I'll give it a go. Paramedics can only give signed statements if they personally agree and it's within the bounds of their ethics. I wish you all the best.
- They can talk about you, and will have documentation about what happened with you, but they will not have any 'facts' when it comes to the person who was helping you. Any information about that person will be hearsay and carry little to no weight. Sorry.
- It all comes down to proof. As a paramedic in the US I have a difficult time in civil matters if I KNOW someone is drunk but no tests are run on them at the hospitals or the jail. I can say I suspected the use of ETOH (alcohol) but that itself isn't good enough. Being very descriptive of the events and actions are more important. Call OSHA or whatever safety commission is available and report the guy and see if someone will investigate if your employer won't.
