Request By:
Mr. Michael T. Swift
Director
Ambulance Service Corporation, Inc.
Barren-Metcalfe County Ambulance Service
Cross Street at 31-E By-Pass
Glasgow, Kentucky
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; Elizabeth E. Blackford, Assistant Attorney General
You have written to ask two questions concerning ambulances which are involved in accidents while responding to an emergency call and KRS 189.580 which prohibits leaving the scene of an accident. The first question is as follows:
"In the event that an emergency medical service vehicle is responding to an emergency call and is involved in an automobile accident with another vehicle or causes damage to other property which does not cause injury, after the crew stops and ascertains that there are no injuries, does continued response to the scene of the dispatched emergency by the involved vehicle and crew constitute a violation of KRS 189.580(1)?"
KRS 189.580(1) provides:
"189.580. Duty in case of accident. -- (1) The operator of any vehicle, whose vehicle load, or vehicle equipment which is involved in an accident resulting in injury to or death of any person or resulting only in damage to a vehicle or other property which is driven or attended by any person shall immediately stop and ascertain the extent of the injury or damage and render reasonable assistance, including the carrying, or making of arrangements for the carrying, of such person to a physician, surgeon, or hospital for medical or surgical treatment if it is apparent that such treatment is necessary, or if such carrying is requested by the injured person. The operator or person having or assuming authority of the operator, or ownership of the vehicle, shall give the occupant of the vehicle, or person struck, if requested, the registration number of the vehicle, if any, and also the names and addressed of the owner, the occupants and operator. The total names need not exceed five (5) in number."
The statutes do not exempt ambulances that are responding to emergency calls from compliance with the requirements of KRS 189.580. Therefore, even though the ambulance is responding to a call, it must perform the duties set by that section.
Under the facts you describe, the ambulance crew has complied with the duty described in the first sentence by stopping and determining that there are no injuries. However, if the driver of the other vehicle so requests, the crew would have to provide the information or registration and ownership of the vehicle to that driver. In order to speed up compliance with this portion of the statute, I suggest that you have sheets printed up which contain the vehicle registration number, the names and addresses of the owner and the operators (a blank could be left on the form for the driver to fill out), and the relevant insurance information. These sheets should be carried in the respective ambulances. The crew could give this sheet of information to the driver of the other vehicle and in so doing will have complied with the duties imposed by KRS 189.580.
However, before the crew may leave the scene of the accident there is a duty imposed by KRS 189.635 with which, if applicable, the crew must comply. That statute provides:
"(2) Any person operating a vehicle on the highways of this state who is involved in an accident resulting in fatal or nonfatal personal injury to any person or damage to the vehicle rendering the vehicle inoperable shall be required to immediately notify a law enforcement officer having jurisdiction. In the event the operator fails to notify or is incapable of notifying a law enforcement officer having jurisdiction, such responsibility shall rest with the owner of the vehicle or any occupant of the vehicle at the time of the accident. A law enforcement officer having jurisdiction shall investigate the accident and file a written report of the accident with his law enforcement agency."
The duty imposed by this statute becomes applicable if there is any injury of any person involved in the accident or, if there is no injury, if either vehicle is rendered inoperable as a result of the accident. In those circumstances the police must be called. Under the facts you have described, the crew has determined there has been no injury. By this we are assuming that you mean there are no minor injuries, such as cut fingers, as well as no major injuries. Therefore, the crew would have to notify the police only if one of the vehicles involved in the accident is rendered inoperable. If so, they must call the police. The question then becomes whether they must wait until the police have arrived and have investigated the accident or whether, having notified the police, they may proceed on to the scene of the emergency dispatch. This office is of the opinion that the crew may proceed on to the scene of the emergency dispatch under these limited circumstances:
(1) There is no injury, no matter how minor, of any person involved in the accident.
(2) They have called the ambulance dispatch service and have determined there is no other ambulance which could go to the scene of the emergency to which they have been dispatched at that time.
(3) In notifying the police of their accident they have told the police that they are in the process of responding to an emergency call and that, since there is no other ambulance which can take the call, they will be leaving the scene of their own accident to go to the scene of the emergency dispatch.
(4) That an accident report be filed with the Bureau of State Police by and/or on behalf of the ambulance within ten days after the accident.
Where there is no injury to anyone involved in the accident, the primary value of the police investigation and the on-the-spot accident report is to compile statistics and to help fix the blame for property damage. The statute must be read together with KRS 189.580. Together, the statutes permit the parties to the accident to leave the scene of the accident in order to obtain or render medical aid to anyone who was hurt in the accident before the police arrive and make the investigation. Thus, the statutes recognize it is more important to get medical help for someone who needs it than to have an on-the-spot investigation with all parties present. Since it is presumed that an ambulance would not be making an emergency run unless there is someone at the scene to which the ambulance has been dispatched who is in need of medical aid, we are of the opinion that the ambulance crew would be operating within the spirit of the exemption if it left the scene of the accident to proceed on in response to the emergency call. To say otherwise would be to let the technicalities of an investigation for the purposes of determining property damage take precedence over the rendering of medical aid which may well be necessary to save human life. Accordingly, this office is of the opinion that the crew could continue on in its response to the emergency call under the described circumstances.
In summary then, due to the absence of any exemptions, ambulance crews which are involved in an accident while responding to an emergency call must comply with the requirements of KRS 189.580 and of KRS 186.635, if applicable, before proceeding to the scene of the emergency.
The second question you ask is:
"In the event that an emergency medical service vehicle is transporting a patient to the hospital on an emergency basis, or a patient who in the opinion of the attending Emergency Medical Technician requires prompt medical attention, is involved in an automobile accident with another vehicle or causes damage to other property which does not cause injury, after the crew stops and ascertains that there are no injuries, does continued transportation to the hospital or other medical facility by the involved vehicle and crew constitute a violation of KRS 189.580(1)?"
Again, there is nothing in KRS 189.580(1) which specifically excuses an ambulance crew from full compliance with the duties imposed by that section. However, the statute itself recognizes that it is more important to obtain medical assistance for one involved in the accident who is in need of such aid than to give the other party to the accident the required information on registration and ownership of the vehicle. A patient who was in the ambulance when the accident occurred is obviously someone involved in the accident who is in need of medical aid. Thus, where the ambulance crew has determined that no one else who was involved in the accident has been injured in any way, it would not be violating KRS 189.580 in leaving the scene of the accident without first giving the information on vehicle registration and ownership to the driver of the other vehicle.
Finally, we would note that after the crew has complied with its duties in regard to determining whether injuries have occurred and in giving the relevant vehicle information, the crew is free to proceed to its destination without obtaining from the other driver the information relating to that driver's vehicle. As a practical or policy matter, it might be desirable for the crew to obtain that information or to make provisions with that driver to have the information sent to the ambulance service. But, KRS 189.580 does not require the crew to obtain that information.