Orlando L. Blanco
Orlando L. Blanco has been an attorney and litigator for nearly 40 years, during which he has tried cases involving a wide array of liability issues including: Civil Rights liability, Governmental Liability Claims, Products Liability, Premises Liability, Automobile Negligence (both First and Third Party), Professional and Medical Malpractice, Hospice Liability, Rental Car Liability, Paramedic and EMT Liability, Semi Tractor/Trailer Liability, Insurance Claims disputes, Property Losses and Wrongful Death cases.
Prior to opening his own private practice in 1995, Mr. Blanco served as a Senior Litigation Attorney with CIGNA Insurance Company’s Field Litigation Office in Detroit Michigan where he defended a number of insurance defense claims.
Mr. Blanco is regarded as a national authority in the area of Risk Management, particularly in the EMS field, having published and presented numerous works on the subject and having successfully defended EMS providers in dozens of states in the United States.
Mr. Blanco’s expertise and contributions in the EMS field include the following:
- Legal representative and consultant to the Michigan Association of Ambulance Services (MAAS). Consulted on various legal and risk management issues and has presented various lectures to MAAS membership.
- Legal counsel for Mobile Health Resources (MHR), a network of Michigan ambulance companies providing medical transportation and billing services on a statewide basis.
- Legal representative and consultant for the Michigan Society of EMS Instructor Coordinators (SEMSIC). Mr. Blanco was the Keynote Speaker at several SEMSIC annual conferences and has lectured on various EMS-Legal topics.
- American Medical Response (AMR) Regional Counsel for Southeast Region, providing oversight and supervision of liability claims (2001-2007).
- Legal representative and consultant for National Society of Trauma Nurses.
- Member and consultant for the American Ambulance Association (Insurance Committee).
- Legal representative and consultant to several Michigan Medical Control Authorities.
- Legal lecturer and presenter—Michigan EMS Expo, 1996-2015.
- Published and produced various articles, publications and video presentations, including: “State by State Analysis of EMS Liability Issues and Laws”, (AAA Publications 2004); “Documentation Pitfalls- A Teaching Tool for EMS Providers” DVD (2005); “Patient Care Refusals” DVD (2008).
- Guest lecturer and presenter on legal issues at various EMS forums including AAA Annual Conference, Michigan EMS EXPO, MAAS, SEMSIC and individual ambulance providers and insurers.
Mr. Blanco earned a BBA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1979, and a JD from Wayne State University in 1982 where he was the recipient of the 1981 Senator Carl Levin Award for Top Grade in the Field of Urban Housing and Community Development and where he served as President of the International Law Society.
Mr. Blanco is a member of the Michigan Bar (1982) and Florida Bar (1984) and is admitted to practice in several Federal District Courts, including the Eastern and Western District Courts of Michigan, Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Texas, Southern District of Florida, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
In March of 2014, Mr. Blanco was recognized as one of Michigan’s Leaders in the Law 2014. Mr. Blanco has an AV Preeminent Peer Review from Martindale Hubbell.
Southwestern Michigan Community Ambulance Service v. United Steel Workers, Local 2-0006 (Merc Case No. A15-J-0029, May 2, 2016)
Albrecht v. Michigan Department of Community Health, Case No. 15-003681-AA, June 16, 2015.
Franklin v. Access 2 Care LLC, Macomb County Circuit Court, Case No. 2014-2932-NI, June 16, 2015.
Butler v. Paramed Inc. et al., Kent County Circuit Court, Case No: 14-03882-N0, May 1, 2015.
Doe v. Doe II, Michigan, 2014 Michigan Court of Appeals, 307420/310019, (Dec. 4, 2014).
Compton v. Enterprise Leasing Company of Detroit, et al., 2014, Michigan Court of Appeals, 316662/316671, (September 23, 2014).
Wilkerson v HVA, et al., 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 22477 (6th Cir. Oct. 31, 2013).
Jackson v Medic 1 Ambulance, 517 Fed. Appx. 311; 2013 U.S. App. Lexis 4786 (6th Cir. March 6, 2013).
MPPI v cynoSure Financial, Inc., 475 Fed. Appx. 740; 2012 U.S. App. Lexis 13995 (11th Cir. July 10, 2012).
Jackson v LifeCare Ambulance, 2011 U.S. Dist. Lexis 113098 (W.D. Mich., September 30, 2011).
Lee v Dowagiac Volunteer Fire Dept., 2010 Michigan Court of Appeals 08-000148, (June 10, 2010).
Duval Motor Co. v Dell Fin., LLC, 2009 U.S. Dist. Lexis 48641 (M.D. Florida, June 1, 2009).
Castle v Battle Creek Area Ambulance, 2009 Michigan Court of Appeals 05-012800, (March 19, 2009).
Tri-Township Ambulance Serv. v Northeast Mich. Med. Control Auth., 2008 U.S. Dist. Lexis 107246 (E.D. Mich., December 23, 2008).
Osler v Huron Valley Ambulance, 2008 Michigan Court of Appeals 06-000711, (November 3, 2008).
Willis v LifeCare Ambulance, 2008 U.S. Dist. Lexis 56578 (W.D. Mich., July 24, 2008).
Blanco, Orlando. “Assessing Competency.” 2017 Macomb MCA Conference, October 27, 2017. Click for the slides.
Blanco, Orlando. “EMS Legal Basics: The Scope of Practice for EMTs, Consent, Patient Confidentiality, HIPAA, Patient Care Refusals and the Good Samaritan Act”, McLaren Oakland Hospital, EMS Week Presenter, May 19, 2016.
Blanco, Orlando. “Intersectional Crashes and Right of Way of Emergency Vehicles”, 2016 Michigan Rural EMS Summit, Frankenmuth, Michigan.
Blanco, Orlando. “Videotaping EMS Scenes and Pre-Hospital Providers by the Public, 2016 Michigan Rural EMS Summit, Frankenmuth, Michigan.
Blanco, Orlando. “2016 Annual Sensitivity Training,” Tri-Township Emergency Medical Services, Atlanta, Michigan, February 23, 2016.
Blanco, Orlando. “Electronic Patient Care Reporting Med/Legal Update”, Bloomfield Fire Department, February 22, 24 & 26, 2016, Bloomfield, Michigan.
Blanco, Orlando. “Intersectional Crashes & The Right of Way of Emergency Vehicles”, Bloomfield Fire Department, February 22, 24 & 26, 2016, Bloomfield, Michigan.
Blanco, Orlando. “Videotaping EMS Scenes: Rights & Limitations of the Public, Bloomfield Fire Department, February 22, 24 & 26, 2016, Bloomfield, Michigan.
Blanco, Orlando. EMS Legal Update: “the Rights of the Psychiatric Patient”, McLaren Oakland EMS Symposium, January 12, 2016.
“EMS Legal Update,” Michigan EMS Expo, Traverse City, Michigan, April 25, 2015.
“Patient Transfers: The Growing Liability Exposure in the New Millennium,” Michigan Association of Ambulance Services (MAAS), Self-Insured Workers’ Compensation Fund Annual Meeting, Traverse City, Michigan, April 24, 2015.
“2015 Annual Sensitivity Training,” Tri-Township Emergency Medical Services, Atlanta, Michigan, March 17, 2015.
“EMS Instructor Legal Update,” and “Communication & Report Writing,” SMEMSIC 70th Professional Development Conference, Traverse City, Michigan, March 8, 2014.
“2014 Annual Sensitivity Training,” Tri-Township Emergency Medical Services, Atlanta, Michigan, February 27, 2014.
“Medical-Legal Case Studies,” Macomb County EMS Medial Control Authority Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Conference, Clinton Township, Michigan, October 11, 2013.
“Case of the Year,” Michigan EMS Expo, Detroit, Michigan, April 26, 2013.
“Annual Sensitivity Training,” Tri-Township Emergency Medical Services, Atlanta, Michigan, March 5, 2013.
“EMS Documentation Pitfalls and Patient Care Refusals,” Alliance Mobile Health, Troy, Michigan, January 16, 2013.
“Downstream Considerations of Liability and Litigation,” National Association of State EMS Officials (NASEMSO), Model Rules for Ambulance Vehicle Design Project Team Meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada, November 29-30, 2012.
“The Combative Patient: A Legal Guide,” Michigan Association of Ambulance Services (MAAS), SIWCF Annual Meeting, Grand Rapids, Michigan, April 20, 2012.
“Documentation and Electronic Patient Care Reporting (ePCR),” Bloomfield Township Fire Department, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, April 16, 17 & 18, 2012.
Keynote Address “Policies & Procedures: What You Say WILL Be Used Against You,” Emergency Cardiovascular Care Conference, Frankenmuth, Michigan, May 21, 2011.
“Michigan Emergency Nurses Association Spring Conference,” Mount Pleasant, Michigan, May 4, 2011.
“Medicolegal Aspects of Interfacility Transport, University of Maryland, CCT Medical Legal, Medstar Ambulance, Clinton Township, Michigan, April 19, 2011.
AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating from Martindale Hubbell
Michigan Lawyers Weekly 2014 Leader in the Law
Catastrophic Loss Seminar Certificate Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1991)
National Institute of Trial Advocacy Diploma, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1986)
Federal District Court Trial Advocacy Workshop Certification, Detroit, Michigan (1984)
