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(a) A private ambulance service licensee shall establish policy and take action to discourage, prevent, or correct violations of this article by ambulance personnel who are employed by the licensee.
(b) A private ambulance service licensee shall not allow any ambulance personnel employed by the licensee to operate a private ambulance within the city if the licensee knows or has reasonable cause to suspect that the ambulance personnel has failed to comply with this article, rules and regulations established by the director, or other applicable law. (Ord. 21861)
(a) A licensee shall procure and keep in full force and effect automobile liability insurance, malpractice insurance, and commercial general liability insurance written by an insurance company approved by the State of Texas and acceptable to the city and issued in the standard form approved by the Texas Department of Insurance. All provisions of the policies must be acceptable to the city. The insured provisions of each policy must name the city and its officers and employees as additional insureds, and the coverage provisions must provide coverage for any loss or damage that may arise to any person or property by reason of the operation of a private ambulance service by the licensee.
(b) The automobile liability insurance must provide combined single limits of liability for bodily injury and property damage of not less than $300,000 for each occurrence, or the equivalent, for each ambulance used by the licensee, with a maximum deductible not to exceed the amount allowed by the Texas Safety Responsibility Act (6701h, Vernon’s Texas Civil Statutes), as amended. The insurance must include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage in amounts of not less than $20,000 per person and $40,000 per accident for bodily injury and $15,000 per accident for property damage, or the equivalent. Aggregate limits of liability are prohibited.
(c) The malpractice insurance must provide limits of liability of not less than $300,000 for each claim, or the equivalent.
(d) The commercial general liability insurance must be broad form and provide limits of liability for bodily injury and property damage of not less than $300,000 combined single limit, or the equivalent.
(e) If a vehicle is removed from service, the licensee shall maintain the insurance coverage required by this section for the vehicle until the director receives satisfactory proof that all evidence of operation as an ambulance has been removed from the vehicle.
(f) Insurance required under this section must include:
(1) a cancellation provision in which the insurance company is required to notify the director in writing not fewer than 10 days before canceling, failing to renew, or making a material change to the insurance policy; and
(2) a provision to cover all vehicles, whether owned or not owned by the licensee, operated under the private ambulance service license.
(g) A license will not be granted or renewed unless the applicant or licensee furnishes the director with such proof of insurance as the director considers necessary to determine whether the applicant or licensee is adequately insured under this section.
(h) If the insurance of a licensee lapses or is canceled and new insurance is not obtained, the director shall suspend the license until the licensee provides evidence that insurance coverage required by this section has been obtained. A person shall not operate a private ambulance service while a license is suspended under this section whether or not the action is appealed. A $100 fee must be paid before a license suspended under this section will be reinstated. (Ord. 21861)
(a) Each private ambulance service licensee shall:
(1) be available to provide private ambulance service at least Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except on legal holidays; and
(2) have a working, publicly-listed telephone that must be physically answered by the licensee or an employee 24 hours a day.
(b) A licensee shall provide the director with not less than 10 days’ written notice prior to any change in the business address or telephone number of the private ambulance service.
(c) A licensee who experiences interruption of telephone service to the place of business shall notify the director immediately. (Ord. 21861)
(a) A licensee shall specify and require an item of apparel or an item placed on the apparel to be worn by ambulance personnel employed by the licensee, which item must be of such distinctive and uniform design as to readily identify the licensee’s service and must bear the name of the licensee’s service. The item specified by each licensee must be approved by the director to ensure that ambulance personnel of one licensee may be easily distinguished from ambulance personnel of another and to ensure the neat appearance of ambulance personnel.
(b) While on duty, ambulance personnel shall wear the item specified by the licensee who employs the ambulance personnel and shall comply with such other identification regulations prescribed in the private ambulance service license. (Ord. 21861)
(a) A person commits an offense if he:
(1) intentionally follows any police car or fire apparatus that is traveling in response to an emergency call with red or white lights and siren or intentionally follows any ambulance to or near the scene of an emergency call;
(2) by word or gesture, solicits on a public street within the city the business of transporting a sick, injured, or deceased person for compensation;
(3) intentionally informs the fire alarm dispatcher, police dispatcher, or other fire or police official that an ambulance or more than one ambulance is needed at a location or address when the person knows that such a statement is false; or
(4) operates a private ambulance or uses any equipment in providing private ambulance service that fails to comply with all minimum safety and equipment standards required for a basic life support vehicle by the Emergency Medical Services Act (Chapter 773, Texas Health and Safety Code), as amended, or by any rule or regulation promulgated under that act.
(b) A licensee or permittee commits an offense if he:
(1) causes, induces, or seeks to induce, without good cause, a change of destination to or from a hospital or other place specified by the person requesting private ambulance service; or
(2) operates or permits the operation of a private ambulance on an emergency run or in response to an emergency call or with the use of red or white lights and sirens, without obtaining permission from the fire alarm dispatcher. (Ord. Nos. 21861; 32703)
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