Ambulance negligence claims
We support clients who have suffered harm due to delays, errors, or failures in ambulance care.
In a medical emergency, NHS patients rely on the ambulance service to provide safe, urgent, and often critical emergency care. Ambulance staff, paramedics and first responders are usually the first medically trained professionals to assess the critically-ill patient. Failures in NHS 111 and 999 call handling, assessment and triage, and handling of the patient, or delays in response and handover can cause death or severe, long-term injury.
If you have suffered severe injury or disability as a result of ambulance negligence, we can help you claim compensation.
- Nationally recognised medical negligence specialists with decades of experience
- Access to leading medical experts and rehabilitation professionals
- Proven track record of securing life-changing compensation for families
- Dedicated support from initial enquiry through to settlement
- No upfront costs and claim through a no win no fee agreement
Ambulance negligence claims
Spinal cord injury
Brain injury negligence
Cauda equina syndrome
VTE thrombosis
Sepsis negligence
Meningitis claims
Cardiac and heart negligence
Accident & emergency
Starting your ambulance negligence claim
For more than 30 years, Boyes Turner’s medical negligence solicitors have guided injured patients through the claims process to secure the compensation and specialist support that they need to manage their disability and rebuild their lives.
You can contact us by telephone or by email for free, confidential advice from a medical negligence solicitor.
We will ask you to tell us briefly about your injury and your emergency ambulance and medical care, and advise you about any time limits which may apply and whether we can help you investigate your claim. Once our investigations confirm you have grounds for a claim, we will notify the defendant healthcare provider (usually represented by NHS Resolution) on your behalf and invite them to respond, giving them an opportunity to admit liability (responsibility for your injuries) before court proceedings are issued.
If liability is admitted, we will obtain a judgment from the court and apply for a substantial interim payment to meet your needs arising from your injury and disability. If the healthcare provider or their legal representatives at NHS Resolution deny liability, we will advise you about the best way to proceed your claim. This may involve issuing court proceedings or inviting NHS Resolution to enter into settlement negotiations or mediation.
No win, no fee
No hidden or upfront costs. Clear, straightforward advice. Nothing to pay unless your claim is successful.
Over 30 years’ experience
We have helped thousands of clients claim compensation.
Fully regulated
Authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Ambulance negligence claims FAQs
What is ambulance negligence?
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.
What type of mistakes lead to ambulance negligence claims?
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.
What kind of injuries can you claim compensation for in an ambulance negligence claim?
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.
How much compensation will I get from an ambulance negligence claim?
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).
What are the time limits for making an ambulance negligence claim?
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.
Making an ambulance negligence claim
We understand how daunting it can feel to take the first step. Our specialist medical negligence solicitors are here to guide you through every stage.
Getting in touch
Call us or complete our online enquiry form for free, confidential advice from a specialist ambulance negligence solicitor. We will listen to your concerns, explain your options, and advise whether we can investigate if delays or failures in ambulance care caused avoidable harm.
Supporting your claim
Our solicitors will review your medical records, instruct independent experts, and investigate whether you received appropriate assessment, treatment and timely transport. Where negligence is identified, we can build a strong claim and, where appropriate, seek an interim payment to help meet immediate care and rehabilitation needs.
Securing compensation
Contact us
If you would like advice regarding a serious injury or illness affecting you or a loved one, please complete the form and one of our experts will be in touch as soon as possible.
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Client story
£6.4m settlement for amputations
after ambulance crew fails to take suspected meningitis patient to hospital.
Our ambulance negligence claims
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£1.75 million settlement for cauda equina syndrome (CES) after negligent safety netting and treatment delays
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£1.6 million settlement for multiple amputee after negligent hospital treatment of sepsis
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£200,000 settlement for bereaved family after negligent sepsis treatment leads to young woman’s death
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£6.4 million settlement for amputations after ambulance crew fails to take suspected meningitis patient to hospital
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£95,000 settlement for family following 58-year-old woman’s death from delays in diagnosis and treatment of sepsis
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£300,000 settlement in cauda equina CES claim for 78-year-old woman with pre-existing spinal stenosis
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Hospital admits liability in CES claim after delayed MRI scan, diagnosis and treatment cause patient’s disability
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Client story: Dan talks candidly about his experience with cauda equina syndrome and making a CES claim
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Liability admission after hospital fail to perform emergency MRI for cauda equina red flag symptoms
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Liability admission after ‘safety netting’ failure delays diagnosis after ‘red flag’ symptoms of cauda equina (CES)
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£70,000 settlement after negligent contraceptive prescription causes pulmonary embolism (PE)
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Admission of liability, apology and £50,000 interim payment from ambulance service for meningitis amputee
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£92,500 settlement for our client after a delayed diagnosis of a torn Achilles tendon
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Claim settled after a delay in diagnosis of Ewings sarcoma tumour of the spine
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Our clients receive the highest standards of advice and representation and are always treated with compassion, outstanding care and understanding of the physical, emotional, psychological and financial impact that life-changing injury can have upon their lives.
- We are nationally acclaimed for our claimant medical negligence expertise and the outstanding results we achieve for our clients.
- We are ranked as leading clinical negligence experts in the Chambers Directory and Legal 500 guides to the legal profession and are accredited for our specialist expertise by the Law Society, AvMA, and the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).
- Our integrated multidisciplinary team offers our clients a full range of specialist help with compensation, rehabilitation, SEN, deputyship, personal injury trusts and community care.
- We secure maximum compensation in claims for adults and children who have suffered catastrophic injury and severe disability, and provide practical support for their families.
Related ambulance negligence insights
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NHS Resolution’s report on claims for severe injury and death after negligent emergency medical care
Leading medical negligence solicitors for over 30 years
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