Ambulance negligence claims

When a patient needs urgent hospital care for acute illness or a medical emergency, each stage of their journey must be handled correctly to avoid permanent injury or significant worsening of their condition.

Mistakes can be made during the handling of calls to 999 or NHS 111, in the assessment of the patient’s condition and prioritisation of their care during triage, in the advice given to the patient or their loved ones by the ambulance or triage service staff, and in the care that they receive from ambulance crews and paramedics at the patient’s home, in transit or during handover at the hospital. Triage failures and NHS pressures can also lead to delayed response times, arrival of ambulance crews and handovers, increasing the risk of significant long-term harm to the patient.

Ambulance negligence claims commonly arise from misdiagnosis or negligent management of life-threatening or emergency conditions, such as head injury, spinal injury, heart attacks and strokes, severe bleeding, meningitis or sepsis, asthma attacks, anaphylaxis or severe allergic reactions. Injury may be caused by incorrect handling of a patient, treatment, medication or advice, or as a result of significant delays in responding.

As with other NHS and private healthcare services, NHS 111 and ambulance services have a responsibility to compensate patients who are severely injured by their negligent care, even when the mistakes are the result of lack of training, staff, or resources.

Ambulance negligence claims and other claims arising from negligent responses to medical emergencies often involve mistakes by one or more of the following:

• NHS 111;
• 999 call handlers;
• ambulance crews, first responders and paramedics;
• air ambulance services.

Claims arising from injury during medical emergencies may also be caused by negligent care from other healthcare providers, such as GP negligence, out of hours service or accident and emergency department (A&E) negligence claims.

Mistakes which lead to ambulance negligence compensation claims often involve:

• call handling errors, negligent history taking and advice;
• delays in response and arrival times, treatment, transfer, or handover to hospital;
• incorrect assessment, diagnosis, or triage (prioritisation) of the patient’s condition and needs;
• failing to recognise red flag symptoms of emergency conditions;
• treatment errors or failure to provide emergency treatment (such as resuscitation);
• refusing to take a patient to hospital who needs emergency treatment;
• transfer delays or taking the patient to the wrong hospital for their condition;
• patient handling errors (such as spinal injury lifting, excessive force or dropping a patient);
• ambulance road traffic accidents and collisions;
• incorrect, missing or defective equipment;
• communication, handover, and information recording errors.

In most cases, patients who need an ambulance are already suffering from a condition which needs urgent or emergency hospital care.

Where a delayed response or negligent treatment from ambulance or paramedic services causes or significantly worsens the patient’s condition, leading to severe, permanent injury, the patient may be entitled to claim compensation for the additional injury that was caused by the negligent care. Our medical negligence solicitors have helped injured patients recover compensation after negligent ambulance or emergency care causes permanent disability, such as from:

• brain injury;
• cardiac or respiratory arrest and damage to vital organs;
• birth injury or maternal obstetric injury;
• spinal cord injury (SCI), tetraplegia, paraplegia, cauda equina syndrome (CES);
• amputation from infections (meningitis, sepsis) or venous thromboembolism (VTE);
• death or fatal injury.

The amount of compensation you will receive for your ambulance negligence claim depends on your injury and disability and the impact it has on your life. Claims for compensation for severe injury and permanent disability often include sums for:

• the pain, suffering and disability that was caused by the negligence;
• the costs of necessary care and support;
• rehabilitation, therapies and medical treatment;
• the additional costs of necessary home adaptations and specialist equipment;
• adapted vehicles, wheelchairs, prosthetics and mobility aids;
• financial losses, such as loss of earnings and pension.

Where the ambulance negligence resulted in fatal injury, the bereaved, dependent family may be able to claim compensation for the injured person’s pain and suffering before their death, as well as funeral costs, a statutory bereavement payment (in some cases) and the loss of the deceased’s income and services (such as childcare, DIY, housework etc).

The law states that, in most cases, a patient who has been injured as a result of medical negligence has three years from the date of the negligence which caused the injury to issue court proceedings. If they fail to issue court proceedings within that time, their claim will be statute barred, meaning that they lose their right to bring a claim. The three-year deadline is known as the limitation period.

There are the following exceptions to the three-year rule:

• if a child is injured before they are 18, their three-year deadline expires on their 21st birthday, in other words, their time doesn’t start to run until they are 18;
• if the injured person is mentally disabled (lacks mental capacity) then their time doesn’t begin to run at all, unless their mental capacity is restored;
• where the injured person has died as a result of negligent treatment, the three-year time limit expires three years after the date of their death, as long as the injured person dies within three years of the negligent treatment;
• if the injured person did not suspect or could not reasonably think they had been injured by negligence, the three-year time period will start to run when the injured person first became aware (or should have suspected) that they had been injured by negligent care;
• the court has a general discretion to extend the time limit in cases where none of the above exceptions apply, but only does so in exceptional circumstances.

Regardless of your time limit, we recommend that you contact our medical negligence solicitors as soon as you can, even if you are still only considering whether to make a claim. This allows us to advise you about the deadlines that apply to your own circumstances, as well as how to ensure you have the best chance of early financial help and a successful claim.