Previous suspended license haunting me

[EmtSeattle1]

Hi everyone. I recently completed an EMT course and passed all my state exams. A local ambulance company hired me which is how I learned that my license was suspended for a civil suit. I got it reinstated but I was told that they had to stop the hiring process because I was uninsurable because of my recent suspension and reinstatement. I also had to file an SR22 with the DOL for 3 years. So here’s my dilemma: I need to find a place that hires EMTs that offer affiliation for the state of Washington department of health so I can practice legally and a place where my suspension won’t be an issue.
I’ve looked into an ER tech but I would need my CNA and a phlebotomy course. I looked into small medic companies for events like concerts, sports games and festivals but they do not offer affiliation. I looked into companies that go to construction sites etc but you need at least 1 year experience. I thought of fire stations but I would need to take the fire academy and do some more testing. I feel absolutely lost and I’m not sure what to do.
I am trying to reopen my court case for the suspension since I wasn’t properly notified but this could take a while. I just need to find a place where I am hirable. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

 

[Jim37F]

I’ve looked into an ER tech but I would need my CNA and a phlebotomy course

Why not sign up for a CNA and/or phlebotomy course?

 

[EmtSeattle1]

Thank you for your reply. Er tech requires both cna and phlebotomy. The CNA course is 3 months long then state tests and the community college offers a phlebotomy certificate which is 6+ months and needs additional pre reqs and more state tests. My EMT certificate expires after 1 year and I would like to find immediate work. That’s a lot of extra work for something I’m not too interested in doing. When I did my er rotation for my EMT course I couldn’t wait to get out of there. I really loved going on the ride along‘s with the fire department and the paramedics.

 

[TheEleventhHour]

Not sure where you're located but here in LA they have 6 week CNA Programs & also 3 Month Phlebotomy Programs at UCLA.

 

[Bullets]

Is you license currently suspended? You said you were reinstated, so you posses and active and valid EMT card from your state?

What was the disposition of the litigation?

 

[Carlos Danger]

Have a consult with an attorney (a good, reputable one; not the cheapest one you can find) and find out if there is any way to have the original license suspension reversed so that legally, it never happened and you can legally check the “no” box on the applications where they ask if your license has ever been suspended. It will cost you some money but may be well worth it.

 

[Jim37F]

6 month phlebotomy? Sure that's not weeks? Shoots, fly out to Hawaii, here at KCC it's 64 hours classroom and 100 hours clinical (~2, 2.5 months), a lot shorter than half a year lol

Anyways I'm no legal expert by any means, but either get that cleared up to work normally ASAP, but if you have a legal issue, many companies don't want to touch that with a 10 foot pole, so you will probably have to take work you don't want to do in the meantime before you get your status cleared up. That might mean going back to school to get your plebotomy and CNA to work as a er tech, or even straight up as a CNA or phlebotomist somewhere if you cant get a tech job while getting your EMT cert cleared up....or even flipping burgers or Uber/Lyft driving full time or some other job in the meantime if that's what it takes.

 

[EmtSeattle1]

Is you license currently suspended? You said you were reinstated, so you posses and active and valid EMT card from your state?

What was the disposition of the litigation?

Bullets- My license is not currently suspended. I was told that because I have a recent suspension on my record, I am uninsurable with the private ambulance insurance agency. I guess all ambulance companies insurance here in Seattle are like that. I have my EMT certificate and card but in order for it to be valid I need to be affiliated with a company and file paperwork with the Washington state dept of health. This all happened about 2 weeks ago. I haven’t been by the court house to get the paper work on the case but I know that it’s for an accident that I had in 2013. I backed into a lady in a parking lot. Very small dent on her car. Cops weren’t called so no tickets. I wasn’t driving my car, I gave her the insurance that was in the glove box and all my info. I never heard from her again. For some reason her insurance company came after me personally for damages ($3,000). I was never notified by the DOL, insurance agency or their attorneys and they went to court and my license was suspended. I set up a payment plan with them and reinstated my license thinking this would all be ok but didn’t help. Still unemployable to drive an ambulance. I talked to an attorney and he said I could try to vacate the motion if I wasn’t served properly. Lots of paperwork. I am going to try to do that. I’m not sure how this works in other states since I am so new to EMS. But I’m just wondering if there are any other places besides private ambulance companies and fire stations that offer affiliation to satisfy the states need for it so I can practice as an EMT.

 

[EmtSeattle1]

6 month phlebotomy? Sure that's not weeks? Shoots, fly out to Hawaii, here at KCC it's 64 hours classroom and 100 hours clinical (~2, 2.5 months), a lot shorter than half a year lol

Anyways I'm no legal expert by any means, but either get that cleared up to work normally ASAP, but if you have a legal issue, many companies don't want to touch that with a 10 foot pole, so you will probably have to take work you don't want to do in the meantime before you get your status cleared up. That might mean going back to school to get your plebotomy and CNA to work as a er tech, or even straight up as a CNA or phlebotomist somewhere if you cant get a tech job while getting your EMT cert cleared up....or even flipping burgers or Uber/Lyft driving full time or some other job in the meantime if that's what it takes.

Ya it’s a 2 quarter program at the community college by my house. I have 2 kids, am not working yet and do not have the money or time to take all these extra classes. I am about to go back to working in a restaurant till I figure this out so I can pay my bills. I just need to know if there are compaineies/agencies that offer EMT affiliation where my driving record won’t matter.

 

[TheEleventhHour]

Did you state what city or state you're in? I'm pretty sure there are much shorter programs near you.

EDIT: Never mind, I see you're in Washington.

 

[EmtSeattle1]

Did you state what city or state you're in? I'm pretty sure there are much shorter programs near you.

EDIT: Never mind, I see you're in Washington.

Ya I don’t to want to take more classes. I just want to find an EMT position that offers affiliation where I won’t have to drive.

 

[DrParasite]

oh, your DRIVERS license had been previously suspended. That makes a little more sense.

For some reason her insurance company came after me personally for damages ($3,000). I was never notified by the DOL, insurance agency or their attorneys and they went to court and my license was suspended. I set up a payment plan with them and reinstated my license thinking this would all be ok but didn’t help.

sounds super shady on their part, however you should probably consult an expert

I talked to an attorney and he said I could try to vacate the motion if I wasn’t served properly. Lots of paperwork. I am going to try to do that.

oh good, you've spoken to an expert. i would suggest following his advice.

My EMT certificate expires after 1 year

1 year? in my experience, most EMT certs are good for 3-4 years before they need to be renewed. and in many cases, you don't need to be affiliated with an agency to renew, only complete the continuing education.

I thought of fire stations but I would need to take the fire academy and do some more testing. I feel absolutely lost and I’m not sure what to do.

most career fire departments are more selective than private ambulance companies when it comes to applicants. so if this is preventing you from getting on the ambulance, there is a high probability it would prevent you from getting on the fire truck too.

But I’m just wondering if there are any other places besides private ambulance companies and fire stations that offer affiliation to satisfy the states need for it so I can practice as an EMT.

how about something like this? https://www.google.com/search?q=emt...bp=htl;jobs#htidocid=FEAngFgF5vE1mI_qAAAAAA==

 

[chriscemt]

1 year? in my experience, most EMT certs are good for 3-4 years before they need to be renewed. and in many cases, you don't need to be affiliated with an agency to renew, only complete the continuing education.

Most? Kansas requires recertification every two years. Missouri requires every five. It'd be interesting to note the difference in each state (I would have assumed two years would be pretty standard). NREMT recertification is every two years for what it's worth.

Also, I think OP alluded to having only one year left to recertify, not that they recertify each year...

 

[EmtSeattle1]

Most? Kansas requires recertification every two years. Missouri requires every five. It'd be interesting to note the difference in each state (I would have assumed two years would be pretty standard). NREMT recertification is every two years for what it's worth.

Also, I think OP alluded to having only one year left to recertify, not that they recertify each year...

Ya I posted that I just completed my EMT course in December. I have never been employed as an EMT. Here in Washington, we only have one year to gain employment with an agency that offers affiliation or we will have to retake the class.

 

[TheEleventhHour]

1 year to gain Employment? That's harsh. I'm in a similar boat as far as having a prior DL Suspension though mine was from an FTA & was not driving related. I have read stories of people being able to get hired by an Ambulance Company with a Suspension on their H6 & have also read of people being denied.

I called a few companies & asked them straight up if 2 prior FTA Suspensions would automatically disqualify me from being insured as to not waste either of our times & so far no one has said Yes it would & they've seem to just still want me to come in & go through the process knowing I have those on my H6 so hopefully there are companies near you that you may still get employed with that.

Worse case scenario there's always ER Tech & Hyperbaric Chamber Technician jobs available in the meantime.

 

[DrParasite]

I called a few companies & asked them straight up if 2 prior FTA Suspensions would automatically disqualify me from being insured as to not waste either of our times & so far no one has said Yes it would & they've seem to just still want me to come in & go through the process knowing I have those on my H6 so hopefully there are companies near you that you may still get employed with that.

While I don't want to discourage you, I also hope you understand that while you aren't disqualified automatically it still hurts you compared to people without suspensions.

If you go through the process, you might be wasting your time; they are paid by the hour, so they get paid regardless of if you apply or not. So keep that in perspective (and definitely apply, especially if you don't have anything else to do)

Worse case scenario there's always ER Tech & Hyperbaric Chamber Technician jobs available in the meantime.

Oddly enough, I was thinking about applying to be a hyperbaric chamber tech just as a part time job... pays more than EMS, and there isn't any heavy lifting.

 

[TheEleventhHour]

While I don't want to discourage you, I also hope you understand that while you aren't disqualified automatically it still hurts you compared to people without suspensions.

If you go through the process, you might be wasting your time; they are paid by the hour, so they get paid regardless of if you apply or not. So keep that in perspective (and definitely apply, especially if you don't have anything else to do)

Oddly enough, I was thinking about applying to be a hyperbaric chamber tech just as a part time job... pays more than EMS, and there isn't any heavy lifting.

Yeah, I'm not getting my hopes up because as you said, they're getting paid either way & there will be candidates with cleaner H6's but it was better than a "Sorry, we wouldn't be able to insure you."

There's a few HBC Tech jobs available out here & I wouldn't mind using my EMT for that if I'm SOL in the Ambulance hunt.

 

[phideux]

If you have to carry SR-22 for 3 years, basically, I think, so would a place that employs you to drive their vehicles.