In Public Safety Experts: No Longer “The Retired Cop,” emergency communications and 911 expert witness Charles D. Carter writes:
Just as in all other professions, emergency communications receives its fair share of lawsuits for negligence. Who will provide the attorney with the expertise to understand the “standard of care” within the emergency communications profession? Just as in other professions, experience as a member of the profession doesn’t qualify someone to educate the attorneys and a jury about the complexities of hiring, training, directives, quality controls, performance evaluations, and the phases of a 9-1-1 call and the potential for negligence within each phase. Nor will they be familiar with federal and state laws regulating 9-1-1.
The 9-1-1 litigation consultant should have experience working in an emergency communications center, training other employees, and managing the overall system. They should have experience in developing training programs, implementing those programs, and provide quality controls to ensure the programs are carried out by each individual as intended. They should be experienced in establishing hiring criteria and developing policies and procedures for emergency communications. The must be familiar with all federal and state laws that regulate 9-1-1 in their state. A bonus would to be a legislative consultant in 9-1-1 affairs.