Lakeside EMS/County Case to Continue

A telephone conference call Wednesday between Effingham County State's Attorney Bryan Kibler and the attorney for Lakeside EMS led to the scheduling another call on November 20th.

The County had sought temporary relief against Lakeside operating in Effingham County. Judge James Eder ruled against the request for relief on August 23.

That left it to the County to decide whether to pursue a temporary or permanent injuction against Lakeside operating in the county.

Following the hearing in August, Lakeside EMS filed a counterclaim against the County. Lakeside denied a County claim that the ambulance service had a base of operations on South Raney Street in Effingham, only their location in Sigel. The counterclaim also alleges that the County has no standing to regulate other than emergency ambulance service and is not authorized to regulate agencies that provide transfers and other routine calls.

Lakeside also alleges that there are many other ambulance services who transport people in and out of the county and they don't have a letter of authorization to operate such as the one the County said Lakeside needed to operate.

During the conference call, Judge Eder gave the County until this Friday to answer Lakeside's counterclaim, that each party is to submit any written discovery by October 17th, and that another conference call will take place on November 20th.