CDE #41527
Know Your
Liability
The best way to avoid liability is to talk about it
PSC | apcointl.org
By Sheila Hanna-Wiles, RPL
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Every job in
every industry has some type
of liability attached to it.
T
here are some words and phrases that 9-1-1 telecommunicators
prefer be avoided in the communication center, such as “It sure
is quiet today.” Oh no, they used the Q-word!
Public safety consists of many different
positions that are found in a communication
center, and with each position comes some
type of liability — more for some and less
for others.
In this article, we will look at three
types of liability that can impact PSAPs
and telecommunicators — criminal, civil
and vicarious:
• Civil liability refers to responsibility
for debts or wrongdoing against another
private party. For example, if a telecommunicator fails to advise an officer about
the presence of a gun and the officer is
killed on the call, the family of the officer — if the state allows it — can file
a civil case against the agency and/or
telecommunicator.
• Criminal liability deals with wrongdoing
against society as a whole. It means the
person has committed an offense against
state criminal codes.
• Vicarious liability refers to responsibility
placed upon one person for the failure of
another with whom the first person has a
special relationship, such as a parent and
child or employer and employee, to exercise
such care as a reasonably prudent person
would use under similar circumstances.
If state law permits it, a person can be
tried in both a criminal and civil case, and
the verdict can be different in each one. The
most notorious examples are the trials of O.
J. Simpson, who was found not guilty in the
criminal case but guilty in the civil case.
Most lawsuits brought about in the 9-1-1
industry are civil cases. Unfortunately, there
are many of these lawsuits in the books today.
The influx of these lawsuits is and can be
caused by one or more of the following:
• Lack of training
• Lack of standardization (policy/
procedures/guidelines)
• Lack of accountability
• Complacency
• Lack of supervision
Lack of training is at the forefront of
the causes. New-hire training is a must in
our industry. We can no longer hire people
and allow them to sit in dispatch with the
most experienced person for a day or two
and expect them to perform at a top level.
Without a standardized new-hire training
program, agency liability increases.
We’ve come a long way over the years,
and now more than ever we need continuing
education to keep up with changes and to
reinforce the knowledge of each employee.
In-service training should be a mandatory
requirement in every agency to help minimize liability. Assuring that every employee
has the same training across the board and
implementing a minimum number of training hours is the start of a good in-service
training program.
Lack of standardization means that the
agency does not hold the actions or inactions of employees to a certain standard.
This includes both written policy and procedures that each employee follows as well as
national standards. APCO International has
been involved in the development of several
national standards for public safety communications in the operational, technical and
PSC | January/February 2016
Another word to avoid is “liability.” Why would one word be so scary? The
answer is simple: When it’s used, many believe it’s being used to frighten the telecommunicator. This is far from the truth. Every job in every industry has some type of liability attached
to it. The best way to avoid it is to talk about it, learn how to minimize risk and then talk
about it some more.
29
training areas. To help minimize liability, an
agency should have written policy and procedures that conform to the national standards.
Lack of accountability falls into many
different areas, but one that stands out the
most is quality assurance and/or quality
improvement. All employees are responsible
for their own actions or inactions, but how
are agencies making them accountable? A
true QA/QI program will ensure that every
telecommunicator is following the same
standards and that potential mistakes are
caught and corrected early. Implementing
this program is an indication that an agency
is proactive rather than reactive. By implementing this program, every telecommunicator can be held accountable in a fair and
precise manner.
Complacency happens before anyone
realizes it. Someone who has been in the
business for years doing the same thing time
and time again is most likely to fall into this
trap. In this industry, we don’t have room for
complacency. The fact that we have processed
a specific call the same way for the past 10
years does not mean that this time when the
call for service comes in it should be treated
the same way. Every call should be handled on
its own merits. Treating every call for service
as a call you have never received will help
minimize your liability, because you are apt
to do everything that is supposed to be done.
Lack of supervision concerns shift
supervisors, managers and directors, and
agency budgets affect this area tremendously. Some agencies operate without any
supervision on each shift, and this practice
is very dangerous. Someone who is physically
inside the communication center needs to
be in charge. People can’t supervise from
cars in the field or from their living room
couches. A supervisor needs to know what
is going on every minute of the shift. Shift
supervisors are the link to the managers and
directors who are ultimately responsible for
the day-to-day operations in the communication center.
The question has been raised several
times: “Can a telecommunicator be sued
personally?” Some states offer immunity
for public safety agencies and personnel
against liability lawsuits. However, once a
special relationship has been established,
the immunity is negated and the agency
and/or individual will be held responsible
for any negligent acts performed in the
commission of their duties. In a communication center, there are several ways to
reduce liability:
1.Follow the policy and procedures.
Abiding by the policy and procedures set
forth by the agency mitigates the risk for
the telecommunicator.
2.Identify and report outdated policy and
procedures. As a telecommunicator, you
are responsible for identifying and reporting outdated agency policy and procedures
to your supervisor. Having done so, it is
then the agency’s responsibility to make
any necessary changes to them.
3.Report policy and procedures that do not
meet agency goals. Telecommunicators
are in the best position to know what works
best for everyone. Choosing not to make
your voice heard can put you in the hot
seat in a court of law.
4.Attend all training opportunities.
Telecommunicators are ultimately responsible for themselves. If telecommunicators
want to put on a shield of armor, then they
should attend any available training. If
telecommunicators miss a training opportunity, they should find another option for
participating in the training. They should
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783106_Editorial.indd 1
12/10/15 1:08 PM
of a communication center. An agency
that earns either of these recognitions
ensures that every telecommunicator
follows the requirements.
7. Document, document, document. As
the saying goes, if it’s not in writing, it
didn’t happen. Information typed into
the CAD system could mean the difference between “guilty” and “not guilty.”
The CAD record should draw a picture
of what is happening or has occurred
throughout the entire call for service.
Minimum documentation in the CAD
record will raise a red flag in a courtroom. Trying to remember what happened because it wasn’t put in the CAD
is even harder.
The risk that every person carries in the
communication center is the same amount
of risk that someone else would carry in any
other job or profession — maybe not the
exact type, but it is all a liability. The key
is to minimize your exposure.
One last thought: If something should
occur and you are named in a lawsuit, think
about the people who will be deciding your
guilt or innocence. Most likely, the jury will
consist of 12 people who have never been inside
a communication center and do not understand what goes on in one. They don’t understand that when you are talking to someone
on the phone, you are also doing three other
things at the same time. It is your responsibility to have everything in place so if this should
ever happen, those 12 people can be educated
on what goes on in the communication center
based purely on the programs in place at the
agency, the status of the agency and training
opportunities.
•
Sheila Hanna-Wiles, RPL, is the education and
training administrator for the APCO Institute.
She has served in public safety for 18 years as a
telecommunicator and coordinator for training,
QA/QI and 9-1-1. She has also served on several
workgroups for public safety curriculum.
Attending training sessions should be
a priority for all telecommunicators.
PSC | January/February 2016
also seek additional training opportunities
in areas in which they may be weak.
5.Understand the importance of a quality
assurance/improvement program. The
first thing that telecommunicators think
when this program is put in place at their
agency is that the agency is out to get them.
The truth of the matter is, the agency is out
recognize when the telecommunicator is
doing things the right way. This program
is not a disciplinary program, but rather a
motivational tool and an agency’s “insurance policy” that everyone is being properly trained.
6.G et behind accreditation and certification. Each agency that chooses
to meet the APCO Agency Training
Certification requirements and/or the
CALEA Accreditation requirements will
minimize its liability tremendously.
The standards required in each of these
programs have been created by industry
experts who understand the operations
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CDE EXAM #41527
1.Which of the following best describes
where the risk of liability is found:
a.Liability attaches exclusively to
public safety work, and nowhere else.
b.Liability attaches to public safety
and to medical work, and nowhere
else.
c.Liability attaches to every job in
every industry in some way.
2.Civil liability refers to debts or
wrongdoing against another private
party.
a.True
b.False
3.Vicarious liability refers to the
responsibility that falls on a person
as a direct result of his or her own
actions.
a.True
b.False
4.As stated in the article, the influx of
lawsuits in the 9-1-1 industry today can
be caused by which one of the following:
a.Lack of training, lack of supervision,
lack of standardization.
b.Lack of amenities, lack of demand,
lack of return.
c.Lack of public interest, lack of
publicity, lack of public involvement.
PSC | apcointl.org
c.A true QA/QI program increases
staff retention by ensuring greater
job satisfaction.
d.None of the above.
8. Nobody is more likely to fall into
complacency than the newly hired
telecommunicator.
a.True
b.False
9. Documentation is vitally important to
the work of the telecommunicator and
can be a key factor in a liability case.
a.True
b.False
10. According to the article, agencies
that chose to meet APCO and CALEA
certification benefit by:
a.Free publicity in industry
magazines, at conferences and
possibly on local TV.
b.Adopting standards created by
industry experts who understand
how a communication center
operates.
c.Reducing the hours
telecommunicators have to work on
each shift.
d.All of the above.
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1.Study the CDE article in this issue.
32
5.Continuing education and training
are important in managing the risk of
liability because (choose the one best
selection):
a.Without a standardized new-hire
training program in place, the
liability for an agency is heightened.
b.Continuing education helps staff to
keep up with all the changes and
to reinforce the knowledge of each
employee.
c.A minimum number of training hours
is the start of a good in-service
training program.
d.All of the above.
6. Entering minimal information in the
CAD will eliminate liability.
a.True
b.False
7.Which one of the following best
describes the importance of a true
quality assurance/quality improvement
program for reducing liability?
a.A true QA/QI program ensures every
telecommunicator follows the same
standards and potential mistakes
are caught early and corrected.
b.A true QA/QI program cuts costs and
improves efficiency.
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