Ambulance delay compensation claims
The news is full of stories of ambulance delays and massive queues outside A&E departments right across the country. The BBC recently reported that Gloucestershire Royal Hospital was at its highest level of escalation, with 22 ambulances photographed queuing outside. Salisbury and Swindon hospitals were also reported to be at the highest level of escalation. As a result members of the public have been encouraged to only attend A&E or call for an ambulance if their condition is serious or life-threatening.
Flu outbreaks and other seasonal health crises can put added pressure on emergency services, resulting in even longer wait times and overcrowded A&E departments.
But where do you stand if your health suffers as a result of these problems? Can you make a claim for ambulance delay compensation?
When bringing any claim for medical negligence, a claimant must show that the care or treatment provided fell below acceptable standards. This therefore raises the question of what standards are to be regarded as acceptable? And in the specific context of ambulance cases, if delays begin to be accepted as normal, then will this impact the definition of ‘acceptable’?
Like most aspects of medical negligence law, it is advisable to seek the opinion of a lawyer who specialises in this area. every case is different and claims need to be assessed on an individual basis.
In addition to ambulance delays, compensation claims against the ambulance service can also be considered in the following situations:
- Misdiagnosis by paramedic staff
- Non-attendance of an ambulance
- Failure to provide treatment or incorrect treatment by paramedics
- Handling errors while moving a patient that result in pain or injury
- Transferring a patient to a hospital which cannot correctly treat their condition
Our medical negligence team recently assisted with a fatal accidents claim where the Coroner found that the Trust in question had an issue of ‘bed blocking’. This is the process whereby patients who can be discharged are kept in the hospital due to a lack of resources and available care in the community. The knock-on effects of this are increased wait times, missed opportunities and inbound patients being held in ambulance queues.
If you have suffered as a result of an an ambulance delay, or some other inadequate ambulance service, and would like to know where you stand on claiming compensation, then contact our team for a free consultation. Because we are experienced in dealing with these cases we can provide expert guidance on the specifics of your situation and work on a No Win, No Fee basis.
