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In this episode of Inside EMS, cohosts Chris Cebollero and Kelly Grayson discuss the importance of integrity, documentation and tracking errors in the field.
Chris spent the past week in jury duty, listening to prosecutors unsuccessfully try a murder case that resulted in a hung jury.
He shares details that tripped up law enforcement officers testifying in the case, and the jury鈥檚 perspective on errors made, lies told and how integrity doubts derailed the case.
Memorable quotes
鈥淥ne of the things that you need to be able to remember is you should not talk about anything that is not written in your report, because they will tear it apart, and I watched that happen ... when we talk about documentation, why documentation is very, very important is because it鈥檚 the little nuances that you leave out that now you鈥檙e going to discuss that are going to get you into trouble.鈥� 鈥� Chris Cebollero
鈥淚n working with Gene Gandy back in the day 鈥� he used to say that the plaintiff鈥檚 attorney 鈥� in a malpractice case 鈥� his job is to make you look like a sloppy idiot, and your attorney鈥檚 job is to make you look like Johnny Gage. And the weapon that each one of them will use is your report. And it鈥檚 up to you to determine who it鈥檚 more valuable to: the plaintiff鈥檚 attorney or your attorney.鈥� 鈥� Kelly Grayson
鈥淲e, in civil cases in EMS, we don鈥檛 really get a jury of our peers. You know, we may have people who are demographically very similar to us, but as far as judging our actions, what they know is Hollywood, which is about as realistic a portrayal of EMS and medicine in general as your average Disney movie.鈥� 鈥� Kelly Grayson
鈥淭he briefer your remarks, the better your case is going to be received, and that鈥檚 true, you know, it鈥檚 probably just like an EMS lecture. If you go on forever and ever, you lose people. You want to capture their interest, say what you need to say, and set the stage for what鈥檚 going to come.鈥� 鈥� Kelly Grayson
Wolfberg and Wirth on how to avoid legal pitfalls
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