As reported on WSET.com news website, on May 5, 2012, Campbell County, Virginia rescue squad driver Justin Kidd was charged with reckless driving stemming from an accident where he was transporting a woman in labor to the hospital. Kidd ran a red light and hit a pickup truck, causing it to overturn. The pick up truck driver Dean Anders, 69, coincidentally a retired fire fighter, died at the scene.
In light of this tragedy, it is important for
people in public emergency capacities and volunteers of emergency departments to understand their exposure to liability and respond accordingly.
According to the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997, P.L. 105-19, Sec. 4, a volunteer emergency vehicle operator is not exempt from charges when their actions were deemed as “willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless misconduct, or a conscious flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the individual harmed by the volunteer.”
Surprisingly, even paid public emergency drivers are not exempt. In training materials for L.A. County Fire Fighters, it states: “A public entity is liable for death or injury to a person or property caused by a negligent or wrongful act, or omission in the operation of any motor vehicle by an employee of the public entity acting within the scope of their employment” (CVC-17004, 2007).
Ideally, anyone who does volunteer or is hired as an emergency responder would have been fully educated on this aspect of the law. The question still remains as to how one can be protected by liability insurance.
There is public officials liability insurance for the risk management of the public or non-profit office. There is also umbrella liability that an individual can purchase to increase their personal auto liability limits up to the maximum allowed by the insurer, typically $2 million. However, there is a coverage gap between the two because the umbrella will not cover the driver in the course of driving a public vehicle. If the emergency office, in this case, Campbell County Rescue Squad, is named in any lawsuits, they will have protection up to their limits on behalf of Kidd. Yet, there still could be other charges, penalties, and fees that no coverage exists for Kidd.
Before considering becoming a volunteer or a paid emergency official, know your rights and your options for liability protection in case you should be involved in such an unfortunate circumstance.
