IS THERE A STANDARD OF CARE AND PRACTICE FOR EMERGENCY DISPATCH? Yes! Ignorance of the standard is no defense. Over time and through litigation, concepts have evolved into a standard that reflects society's expectations of an emergency dispatch system. Emergency services and public safety agencies without this standard in place should be prepared to defend their practices in court—and in the court of public opinion. Ignorance of the standard is not a reasonable defense; both the courts and the public use it to judge emergency communication centers, municipalities, and individual dispatchers...

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Risk management is an area of critical importance for emergency services and public safety agencies, including emergency communication centers. However, almost no information currently exists regarding litigation against, or involving, emergency dispatch. The primary objective in this study was to characterize the most common types of adverse events, actions, and omissions of action that lead to lawsuits against emergency dispatchers and their agencies. The study was a systematic literature review...

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