League to seek legislative fix after court narrows governmental immunity for EMTs

Jared presented a recent Supreme Court opinion that narrows the statutory interpretation of "emergency medical services" under the governmental-immunity framework. According to Jared, the Court’s decision limits immunity to responses during catastrophic events rather than routine EMS calls, which could expose emergency medical technicians and local entities to increased liability.

"This is a big, big erosion of our governmental immunity," Jared said, summarizing the decision and its implications. He explained the underlying case: an individual called 911, EMTs evaluated the person at the scene and suggested hospitalization was not needed, but the person later required major hospital care; the plaintiff sued, and the Supreme Court’s reading limited the scope of the immunity statute in a way that the League views as narrower than prior practice.

Jared told members that multiple stakeholder groups (public safety chiefs, public employees groups, and others) share the League’s concerns and that the League intends to make the issue a legislative priority. He asked for volunteers for a work group to develop coordinated proposals and said the League would try to avoid many competing proposals by working collaboratively across associations. The League requested interested members email jlee@ulct.utah.gov to join the work group.

Next steps: League staff will convene a work group, coordinate with public-safety stakeholders, and draft legislative language for the upcoming session. No bill has been filed yet; the League intends to shepherd a coordinated remedial proposal through the interim and session process.