A Pulaski County Circuit Court jury in Arkansas has determined Little Rock-based Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services did not violate the state's deceptive trade practices act, reports Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Here are five things to know about the case.
1. The case stems from an auto accident in April 2012.
2. Attorneys Dan and Todd Turner of the law firm Arnold, Batson, Turner & Turner filed a lawsuit against central Arkansas' ambulance service on behalf of Robert and Ericka Davis after they were treated for injuries related to the auto accident, according to the report. After the accident, the couple, which suffered spinal and head injuries, was transported via a single ambulance nine miles to Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the couple was billed by the ambulance service nearly $800 each, for a mileage rate of $16.50 per mile and a base rate of $640.
3. The lawsuit challenged MEMS' policy of double billing patients who are transported in one ambulance to a hospital, and it alleged that MEMS enacted the policy to increase revenue, according to the report. The lawsuit ultimately became a class-action case.
4. Little Rock City Attorney Tom Carpenter told jurors there is no deception involved in this practice and revenue gained from transporting patients is the ambulance service's only revenue stream, according to the report. MEMS only charges patients who are transported to a hospital.
5. After hearing arguments from both sides, the jury found MEMS did not commit violations alleged in the plaintiffs' lawsuit, the report states.