What happened: A woman in Toms River, New Jersey, is suing the township and its EMS department, claiming she sustained serious, permanent injuries after falling from a stretcher during hospital transport. The alleged incident occurred in 2022 during offloading from an ambulance at a local hospital. The complaint, filed in June 2024, is now moving forward, prompting renewed attention to the critical importance of stretcher safety in EMS operations.

| More: N.J. EMS faces lawsuit over stretcher fall injuries

Highlights: Watch as Ed Bauter, MBA, MHL, NRP, FP-C, CCP-C; and Daniel Schwester, MICP, highlight the significance of this development, including:

Stretcher safety must be foundational. The incident underscores how easily a routine offload can result in harm if the patient isn’t

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