I'm an EMT and got a DUI... What now?

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I'm in TN also, and have some experience as a third party in these matters. None of the following is legal advice.

There's a good chance your DUI will have a negative impact on your EMS career. Whether that impact is short-term or long-term depends, in part, on decisions you make going forward. For example, as others have said, I recommend you answer questions asked by employers and prospective employers honestly. I also think you'll have a much easier time explaining one DUI than two. There are lots of EMS providers out there with DUIs, and there seems to be a willingness among many employers to view a single DUI as an aberration, rather than as an ongoing issue.

You also need to be honest with yourself. Do you have a problem with substances that could lead to ongoing problems? If so, you need to find a way to get that under control. I know that's easier to say than to do, but that doesn't mean it's bad advice.

Get a good lawyer -- someone with experience in criminal matters who has local connections. This isn't the time to ask for help from a family friend who handles real estate.

Show up for all of your appointments within the judicial system. Accept what has happened, be contrite, follow instructions.

You might lose your job. If you do, there are others, although not necessarily in locations or with companies that would be at the top of your list. Bite the bullet, take whatever job you can get for now, stay clean, work hard, and show others that you made just one mistake.
 
Matt9530 said:
Yea, I figured it would be a long time before I would be rehired. I haven't been proven guilty yet, still have my drivers license and my MVR is clean at the moment. What's the point in telling them before any of that changes? That is an honest question, not sarcasm. The usual partners I have like to only drive, so I tend to take every call anyhow. I know I'm still under insurance with the company, but that won't change until a charge is added to my MVR when I'm found guilty. I am dealing with the consequences.
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Umm... Well buddy you are guilty and you know it so why wait for someone else to tell you that. Tell them now and get it over with. Do it before court. Shows that your job is important to you. Do the right thing don't wait any longer.
 
Tell your company what hapoened hire a good lawyer and you should be fine. Then don't ever do that again.
 
Another Medic is also on here dealing with something similar.

I will spare you judgment as no one on here is perfect.

Get a good lawyer, but realize that you will likely have to answer for this for the rest of your working life. ALmost everyone wants to know who is working for them and Public Safety folks even more so. I would advise coming to terms with a 6 year break from EMS or public safety in general. It is super early in your process but you would be remiss if you did not start to consolidate your life and start to arrange funding for court and lawyer fees.

Any perceived shirking of your responsibility will be taken as such. Be as clear as possible when talking to folks especially your lawyer, the judge and your employer. Your best chance really is mercy. But you won't get any of that if any of those people even remotely think that you are not being harder on yourself than they would be.

You would earn some points on here by posting as much as you can here in order to spread the message and be a cautionary tale. You will overcome this but it will be a while my friend.
 
Matt9530 said:
Here it goes. I'm 23 and I've been licensed and practicing as an AEMT in the state of TN for the past two years at a private ambulance service. Last night I was out drinking and decided to drive and got arrested. I've been charged with a DUI, speeding, and due care. Is this the end of my career? Will my EMT license be revoked? Will I still be employable or fired from my current job? I've worked extremely hard to get where I am. I'm making decent money, have my own place, etc... I'd hate to lose all of that over a temporary lapse in judgement.
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I am in the same boat. Here is the reality of it, if you're still fighting it or have been convicted. I never found anything for reporting the DUI 1st to the state. It is a civil warrant on the 1st and is a Misd. class A. You will do your jail time after convicted. It is either jail or you can have your lawyer sent you to a treatment facility and that counts. You will have 1 year probation and also restricted drivers license (only after paying court costs). You will have to liter pickup, unless you can submit proof of chronic illness that makes you unable to do so. You will have to pay for an Interlock device, pay the probation fee (which is once a month to the jurisdiction usually), pay for the treatment facility, pay the lawyer, pay the court fees, pay to have your license reinstated after a year and pay for SR22 insurance. It is a pricey mistake.

Do not let anyone on hear bring you down. It is a mistake and these things do happen, more often then most want to admitt. You will most likely lose your job as and EMT/AEMT on a unit, but the good news is you keep your license as an EMT/AEMT/Paramedic. You will just have to focus on a career in either fire or hospital settings. That is what I did. I hope this helps and I pray you don't make that mistake again. No one is perfect on here and casting stones at people who've messed up is wrong. I know the stress, anxiety and depression this situation brings all to well. No one is perfect on here and they've made their share of mistakes in life and will continue too as life goes on. It's learning from these mistakes that are important. If someone shames you on here then they have personal guilt from a similar or current situation in their life most of the time. They may drink heavily at home and psychologically know that their in the wrong for doing so and get pleasure out of shaming someone who got a DUI. They don't understand that it can happen to anyone at anytime. That's the problem with alcohol. It fogs the brain. Bad decisions are made and consequences are to pay for them. I completely quit drinking afterward. I hate it took this situation to get me to quit, but it did. I feel much better and sound now. I've got my heart right with God and back in church. In a way, it needed to happen. Sad, but true. Good luck and God bless and I will be praying for you in your journey in life and through this hardship.
 
Cannot overstate how important it is for you to get a good DUI attorney.
 
Matt9530 said:
Here it goes. I'm 23 and I've been licensed and practicing as an AEMT in the state of TN for the past two years at a private ambulance service. Last night I was out drinking and decided to drive and got arrested. I've been charged with a DUI, speeding, and due care. Is this the end of my career? Will my EMT license be revoked? Will I still be employable or fired from my current job? I've worked extremely hard to get where I am. I'm making decent money, have my own place, etc... I'd hate to lose all of that over a temporary lapse in judgement.
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Call your boss and own up to it. You'll probably get fired, but being honest upfront will help you keep future jobs, rather than a shadow of you "trying to hide a crime" following you.

Call your state EMS agency and report it. You'll probably get your license suspended, but can probably complete a short program to regain the right to work.

Don't make two wrongs out of one mistake. Own it, take the punishment, grow and become better.


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Wayngsta said:
Do not let anyone on hear bring you down. It is a mistake and these things do happen, more often then most want to admitt. You will most likely lose your job as and EMT/AEMT on a unit, but the good news is you keep your license as an EMT/AEMT/Paramedic. You will just have to focus on a career in either fire or hospital settings. That is what I did. I hope this helps and I pray you don't make that mistake again. No one is perfect on here and casting stones at people who've messed up is wrong. I know the stress, anxiety and depression this situation brings all to well. No one is perfect on here and they've made their share of mistakes in life and will continue too as life goes on. It's learning from these mistakes that are important. If someone shames you on here then they have personal guilt from a similar or current situation in their life most of the time. They may drink heavily at home and psychologically know that their in the wrong for doing so and get pleasure out of shaming someone who got a DUI. They don't understand that it can happen to anyone at anytime. That's the problem with alcohol. It fogs the brain. Bad decisions are made and consequences are to pay for them. I completely quit drinking afterward. I hate it took this situation to get me to quit, but it did. I feel much better and sound now. I've got my heart right with God and back in church. In a way, it needed to happen. Sad, but true. Good luck and God bless and I will be praying for you in your journey in life and through this hardship.
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1st bolded section: Depends on your state or county. In some areas a DUI may cost you your paramedic license.

2nd bolded section: Highly disagree with this statement. Everyone knows it is stupid and illegal to drive drunk. If you get a DUI you and only you are at fault. You made a stupid decision that could have easily killed someone. You chose to drink, you chose to drive, you and only you made those decisions. You could have: not drank, uber, taxi, get a DD, call a friend/family member, if you are at a private house slept there, or even slept in your car (in some places you can still get a DUI from that). For myself and my girlfriend, we very rarely drink. If we do we make arrangements prior to stay at the location or have a DD/safe ride back home.

Red text section: No it can not happen to anyone at anytime. In order for it to happen there are several very poor and dangerous decisions that had to be made. If you do not drink then you can not get a DUI. If you drink and don't drive then you can not get a DUI. Its actually very simple to not get a DUI.
 
I work for an agency that allows, under certain circumstances, paramedics to work in a non driver status. But a DUI recipient is not awarded that luxury. They are terminated immediately with no chance of rehire. Which is as it should be. Anyone who shows a lapse in judgement to that extent, well that is inexcusable. And brings into question if they make such poor decisions in other aspects of their lives.

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My advice: Get a fantastic lawyer. Stop telling the internet your problem. Get a fantastic lawyer. Dont listen to 80% of what Wyangsta said. There are many things that can happen, but from experience working in the justice system heres what it comes down to. It comes down to the mood of the people involved. Sometimes judges feel super nice, other times a bird crapped on their car and you pay for it. Get a really good lawyer, be super respectful, be early to everything do anything and everything in your power to show that you truly just screwed up. I don't work in TN so i can't help you there.
 
You need to notify your companies manager. Why should you even though you haven't been convicted? They will probably pull you out of the system or place you on light duty until the trial is over. They cannot have an EMT driving an ambulance and performing patient care with pending DUI charges against them. If you begin your cooperation very early and do get the charge, there's a good chance they will move you elsewhere into the company and possibly let you keep your current pay. If you be shady and hide it, they have no reason to keep you and will probably terminate you.
 
Just because inquiring minds want you to explain your thinking in this matter....
exodus said:
You need to notify your companies manager.
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if there isn't a written policy requiring this be done, why?
exodus said:
Why should you even though you haven't been convicted? They will probably pull you out of the system or place you on light duty until the trial is over.
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Or they are going to terminate you on the spot. when you haven't been convicted of a crime. I always thought it was innocent until proven guilty? Why are they going to pull an innocent man out of the system?
exodus said:
They cannot have an EMT driving an ambulance and performing patient care with pending DUI charges against them.
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why not? Can an EMT drive an ambulance with a pending speeding ticket? what about if they run a stop sign? Are all charges of moving violations grounds for immediate suspension of EMT driving privileges?
exodus said:
If you begin your cooperation very early and do get the charge, there's a good chance they will move you elsewhere into the company and possibly let you keep your current pay.
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either you work for a really really nice agency with extra money to spend, or I have worked in the worst of the worst, because no place I have ever worked would let me collect a paycheck while not doing the job I was hired for as a direct result of something illegal that I did. but like I said, you might work with better places that me.
exodus said:
If you be shady and hide it, they have no reason to keep you and will probably terminate you.
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Lets be real here..... if you have a DUI, you are probably not going to get hired by any EMS agency, especially if it was a recent one (in the past 7 years). If you get convicted, or plead guilty to a DUI charge, odds are you are going to lose your job, and be pretty much unhireable for several years, at least in the EMS field (or any field where driving is a requirements of the job).

I won't even pretend that I think what you did was smart. In fact, I have 0 respect for drunk drivers, and think you are lucky all you did was get pulled over by the cops. I had a drunk driver rear end my car, injuring my wife last new years eve, and it totaled her new car, and caused her back and shoulder pain for several months. And I do think it's ironic that if we find someone who is drunk the cops want EMS to take them to the hospital, but if they are drunk behind the wheel, they are taken to jail, even if its post MVA. And that we have parking lots in bars, but I digress....

That all being said, I would follow this advice:
NysEms2117 said:
My advice: Get a fantastic lawyer. Stop telling the internet your problem. Get a fantastic lawyer. Dont listen to 80% of what Wyangsta said. There are many things that can happen, but from experience working in the justice system heres what it comes down to. It comes down to the mood of the people involved. Sometimes judges feel super nice, other times a bird crapped on their car and you pay for it. Get a really good lawyer, be super respectful, be early to everything do anything and everything in your power to show that you truly just screwed up. I don't work in TN so i can't help you there.
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I also think you are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law; unless there is an agency requirement that mandates it be reported, I'd keep it to my self until I speak to a really good lawyer. Because if you do report it, get fired on the spot, and the case gets dismissed, well, now you have no job as a result of an accusation, not because you were convicted of a crime. And that "accusation" will follow you for future employers.

You messed up big time, and while I will agree with almost everyone here in condemning you for your actions, I also understand that you have a job, and I'm guessing bills to a pay and a family to support (or will in the future). You jeopardized more than your life, you endangered theirs as well, and you could have done some major damage had you hit someone else.

We have all done stupid stuff in our past.... the question for you is, what lifestyle changes will you make as a result of your stupid decisions?
 
FiremanMike said:
It is possible to get driving priveledges to and from as well as at work.
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Driving at work is most likely going to be a problem with the companies insurance provider, whether the court let's you drive or not.

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FiremanMike said:
It is possible to get driving priveledges to and from as well as at work.
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To and from work yes it is possible. While at work will depend on your companies insurance but the answer is probably no.
 
Delete all of your online posts about this incident especially the ones where you admit a "lapse in judgement" and how you "were out drinking." Get a lawyer.
 
TransportJockey said:
Driving at work is most likely going to be a problem with the companies insurance provider, whether the court let's you drive or not.

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DesertMedic66 said:
To and from work yes it is possible. While at work will depend on your companies insurance but the answer is probably no.
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Until he's actually convicted of OVI, the department's insurance won't know the difference, provided he's given driving privileges at work. These things regularly get plead down..

That said, I'm not a lawyer, just sharing what I've seen in my career.
 
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