Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using the EMSGrades platform at emsgrades.com (the “Platform”), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service (“Terms”) and our Privacy Policy, Community Guidelines, and Review Dispute Policy, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Platform.

These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and EMSGrades LLC, a Georgia limited liability company (“EMSGrades,” “we,” “us,” or “our”).

2. Platform Description and Limitations

EMSGrades is a public transparency platform that publishes ratings, reviews, and licensure information about emergency medical services (EMS) agencies, providers, educational programs, and related entities operating in Georgia.

Important limitations you must understand before using this Platform:

• Not a consumer reporting agency: EMSGrades is NOT a consumer reporting agency as defined under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. Information on this Platform is expressly NOT intended for use in evaluating a person for employment, credit, insurance, housing, or any other purpose covered by the FCRA. Use of this Platform for such purposes is strictly prohibited.
• Not an official government resource: EMSGrades is a private platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the Georgia Office of EMS and Trauma, the Georgia Department of Public Health, or any other government agency.
• Reviews represent individual opinions: Reviews and ratings published on this Platform represent the personal opinions and experiences of individual users. EMSGrades does not verify the accuracy of review content and does not endorse any review.
• Not a substitute for emergency services: Nothing on this Platform should be used to make real-time decisions about emergency medical care. In an emergency, call 911.

3. Eligibility and Accounts

You must be at least 18 years of age to create an account or submit a review. By creating an account, you represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years old and have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. You agree to notify us immediately at legal@emsgrades.com if you become aware of any unauthorized use of your account.

You may not create more than one account per person. Creating multiple accounts to circumvent a suspension or to artificially inflate or suppress ratings is prohibited and will result in permanent termination of all associated accounts.

4. User-Generated Content and Reviews

4.1 License Grant

By submitting a review, rating, or any other content to the Platform (“User Content”), you grant EMSGrades a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, distribute, and display your User Content in connection with operating and promoting the Platform.

4.2 Your Representations

By submitting User Content, you represent and warrant that:

• Your review reflects your genuine, firsthand experience or observation;
• You are not submitting a review on behalf of a competitor or at the direction of any agency with a financial or competitive interest in the subject of the review;
• Your User Content does not contain false statements of fact presented as true;
• Your User Content does not violate any applicable law or these Terms;
• You have the right to submit the content and it does not infringe any third-party rights.

4.3 Section 230 Notice

EMSGrades is an interactive computer service provider within the meaning of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, 47 U.S.C. § 230. EMSGrades is not the publisher or speaker of User Content submitted by third parties and is not liable for such content. EMSGrades reserves the right, but not the obligation, to remove User Content that violates these Terms or our Community Guidelines.

5. Prohibited Conduct

You agree not to:

• Submit false, fabricated, or misleading reviews;
• Submit reviews about an agency or provider you have never had direct experience with;
• Submit reviews in exchange for compensation, discounts, or other benefits;
• Submit reviews on behalf of a competitor of the reviewed entity;
• Use the Platform to harass, threaten, or intimidate any individual;
• Submit content that is defamatory, obscene, or constitutes unlawful discrimination;
• Use the Platform for employment screening, background checks, or any FCRA-regulated purpose;
• Scrape, crawl, or otherwise systematically extract data from the Platform without express written permission;
• Attempt to circumvent any security measure or access any portion of the Platform you are not authorized to access;
• Use automated tools, bots, or scripts to submit reviews or interact with the Platform;
• Impersonate any person or entity or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity.

6. Agency Subscriptions

EMS agencies may purchase subscription tiers (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, or Enterprise) to access additional Platform features. By purchasing a subscription, you agree to the following:

• Billing: Subscriptions are billed monthly or annually as selected at purchase. All fees are in U.S. dollars.
• Automatic renewal: Subscriptions automatically renew at the end of each billing period unless cancelled before the renewal date.
• No grade manipulation: Subscription status does not influence an agency's grade, rating, or the display of reviews. Agencies cannot pay to remove, suppress, or alter reviews through any subscription tier.
• Refunds: Subscription fees are non-refundable except as required by applicable law or as expressly stated at the time of purchase.
• Cancellation: You may cancel your subscription at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period.

7. Intellectual Property

The EMSGrades name, logo, platform design, software, methodology, and all content created by EMSGrades (excluding User Content and public government data) are the exclusive property of EMSGrades LLC and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other applicable intellectual property laws.

You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, or create derivative works from any EMSGrades-owned content without express written permission. Nothing in these Terms grants you any license to EMSGrades intellectual property except the limited right to access and use the Platform as described herein.

8. Third-Party Data and Public Records

Licensure and credential data published on the Platform is sourced from the Georgia Office of EMS and Trauma public registry (GEMSIS). This data is government-published and publicly available. EMSGrades makes no warranty regarding the accuracy, completeness, or currency of this data. Licensure status should be independently verified through official government sources for any critical purpose.

EMSGrades is not responsible for the content of any third-party websites linked from the Platform.

9. Disclaimers and Limitations of Liability

THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. EMSGRADES DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE PLATFORM WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, EMSGRADES LLC SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, DATA, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, EVEN IF EMSGRADES HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

IN NO EVENT SHALL EMSGRADES LLC'S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO EMSGRADES IN THE TWELVE MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100).

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain warranties or liabilities. In such jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the fullest extent permitted by law.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless EMSGrades LLC and its members, officers, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) your use of the Platform; (b) your User Content; (c) your violation of these Terms; or (d) your violation of any applicable law or third-party rights.

11. Dispute Resolution

Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Platform shall be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, except that either party may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction to prevent actual or threatened infringement of intellectual property rights.

Arbitration fees: EMSGrades will pay all arbitration filing fees and administration costs. Each party is responsible for its own attorneys' fees unless the arbitrator determines that a claim was brought in bad faith or is frivolous, in which case the arbitrator may award reasonable attorneys' fees to the prevailing party.

Class action waiver: You agree that any arbitration or proceeding shall be limited to the dispute between you and EMSGrades individually. You waive any right to participate in a class action lawsuit or class-wide arbitration.

Opt-out right: You may opt out of this arbitration provision by sending written notice to legal@emsgrades.com within 30 days of first accepting these Terms.

12. Termination

EMSGrades reserves the right to suspend or terminate your account and access to the Platform at any time, with or without cause, and with or without notice, including for violations of these Terms or our Community Guidelines.

You may terminate your account at any time by contacting legal@emsgrades.com. Upon termination, your right to use the Platform immediately ceases. Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination shall so survive, including Sections 4, 7, 9, 10, and 11.

13. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Georgia, without giving effect to any conflict of law provisions. To the extent any claim arises under federal law, including but not limited to the Communications Decency Act (47 U.S.C. § 230) or the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.), such claim shall be governed by applicable federal law. Any legal action not subject to arbitration under Section 11 shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Georgia.

14. Copyright Infringement and DMCA Policy

EMSGrades respects the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that content on the Platform infringes your copyright, you may submit a notification pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 17 U.S.C. § 512, to our designated agent at the address below.

Your DMCA notice must include:

• A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or a person authorized to act on their behalf;
• Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed;
• Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing, including a URL or other specific location on the Platform;
• Your contact information, including name, address, telephone number, and email address;
• A statement that you have a good faith belief that the use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
• A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.

Designated DMCA Agent:
EMSGrades LLC
Attn: DMCA Agent
8735 Dunwoody Place, Suite 5999
Atlanta, GA 30350
legal@emsgrades.com

15. Government and Regulatory Requests

EMSGrades will cooperate with lawful requests from government agencies and regulatory bodies. We will provide user data only in response to valid legal process, including subpoenas, court orders, or equivalent legal instruments. We will not voluntarily provide individual user account data in response to informal government inquiries without valid legal process, except where we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to prevent imminent harm to any person.

16. Changes to These Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. When we make material changes, we will update the effective date and, where appropriate, notify registered users by email. Your continued use of the Platform after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you must stop using the Platform.