Canister

Randy D. Canister appeals from a defense judgment entered after a jury found the defendant ambulance company not negligent in the accident resulting in appellant’s injury. This action raises the issue whether emergency medical technicians (EMT’s) are health care providers protected by the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA; Civ. Code, §§ 3333.1, 3333.2; Code Civ. Proc., §§ 340.5, 364, 667.7, 1295; Bus. & Prof. Code, § 6146) and whether negligence in operating an ambulance qualifies as professional negligence. Appellant contends the trial court erred in ruling the action subject to MICRA, allowing prejudicial evidence of collateral payments to be repeatedly admitted before the jury. We hold that EMT’s are health care providers and negligence in operating an ambulance qualifies as professional negligence when the EMT is rendering services that are identified with human health and for which he or she is licensed.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The basic facts, developed during a pretrial motion for summary adjudication or, in the alternative, in limine, brought by respondent Emergency Ambulance Service, Inc. (EAS), are not in dispute. Appellant, a police officer…