New Jersey’s motor vehicle Lemon Law now includes emergency vehicles, a change that came about after a public affairs professional, who volunteers as an emergency medical technical, turned his frustration with an undependable ambulance into a legislative campaign.
The new law became effective January 18. It lays out the circumstances under which companies that build and sell emergency vehicles would reimburse an agency or replace the vehicle. The law applies to ambulances, fire apparatus, police cars, and other vehicles.
The bill began its trip through the legislative process after Doug Fenichel, APR, a volunteer emergency medical technician with Flanders (NJ) Fire Company and Rescue Squad, found himself treating a cardiac patient in the back of an ambulance that had broken down. Another Flanders ambulance quickly arrived to transport the patient.
The patient’s favorable outcome, however, didn’t end the story for Fenichel. In addition to being a volunteer EMT and a paramedic with a local hospital system, Fenichel is an accredited public relations practitioner and the director of public relations for a Fortune 1000 corporation. When he investigated, he learned that the ambulance had a checkered past. Received in August, the unit couldn’t go on the road until November for a variety of reasons, including an engine problem. The rig had been to Ford dealers for the same engine problem several times.
The Lemon Law in New Jersey, Fenichel also found out, didn’t apply to emergency vehicles. In fact, it didn’t apply to anything but private vehicles. Although the department’s volunteer engineers were keeping good records, they were powerless to do any more than demand that the ambulance be fixed again and again. Although his research showed few other states extended Lemon Law protection to emergency vehicle operators, Fenichel sought help from local legislators.
“I’ve worked around the legislative process since college, when I was a legislative aide,” said Fenichel. “I knew this merited attention and was a law that needed updating.”
Fenichel called the 24th District legislative district. Lawmakers there agreed with the need to update the Lemon Law and legislation was introduced in October 2008. A bill in the State Senate was sponsored by State Sen. Steven Oroho, R-24, and Sen. Barbara Buono, D-18, while Assemblyman Gary Chiusano, R-24, Assemblywoman Alison Littel McHose, R-24, and Assemblyman Jack Connors, D-7, introduced the companion proposal in the Assembly.
“When I worked on legislation before, it was as a staffer or representing a group interested in the issue,” said Fenichel. “I was always representing someone else. But this was my idea. That made it special.”
While the legislators and their staffs shepherded the proposed laws through the process, Fenichel launched a campaign to generate support for the bills. He created a blog, www.njemergencylemons.wordpress.com, and began using other social networking channels to spread the word about the proposals. His volunteer fire company and the local hospital system for which he worked encouraged his efforts.
Using more traditional tactics, he also reached out to a variety of organizations in the state. Eventually, the legislation won the support of the state EMS Council, the New Jersey First Aid Council, the League of Municipalities, and individual fire and EMS companies across New Jersey.
One group that wasn’t a fan of the legislation was a coalition of truck manufacturers. Sen. Oroho arranged a meeting between Fenichel and the coalition, which was lead by an attorney and an executive from General Motors. Fenichel’s hospital EMS supervisor accompanied him to the meeting.
“I’m usually the guy working with the attorneys and company executives,” said Fenichel. “This time, I was on the other side of the table, but I was comfortable with our position and pressed on.”
Several weeks of discussions and negotiations with GM, facilitated by Sen. Oroho’s office, led to changes in the bill’s language that assuaged the truck manufacterers’ concerns.
“Many of their issues were legitimate,” said Fenichel. “They didn’t want to be held responsible for work they didn’t do. While I understood that, it was important to keep the process straightforward for emergency services providers.”
With the language settled, the bill completed its trip through the legislative labyrinth as the session wound down, becoming law as gubernatorial administrations changed.
“Barely anyone noticed its passage,” said Fenichel. “Yet it is very important to the emergency services community. Now we have a way to hold responsible all of the companies involved with manufacturing an emergency vehicle.”
The law applies to vehicles during the first 24,000 miles or two years after the purchase of a vehicle. If the responsible manufacturer can’t fix the same problem after three attempts, if the vehicle is out of service for repairs for more than 20 days or if the problem is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury, the law calls for it to be replaced or a refund made.
It also outlines who is responsible for different aspects of the vehicle and provides for an arbitration process if the manufacturers of different parts of the vehicle, such as chassis and ambulance body, can’t agree on a cause.
“I’ve worked on a lot of legislative initiatives over the years, but this was an unusual opportunity in which I was able to combine my passions for public relations and public safety,” said Fenichel. “The result is a law that will protect emergency workers and the people they serve and proof that with the help of responsive legislators, our government system works well. You just have to get involved."