This guide discusses how your settlement could be calculated in a successful paramedic negligence claim. We examine how a legal professional could assign value to your case. We also look at what could make up your settlement should your medical negligence claim succeed.
Then, this guide discusses the eligibility criteria you must satisfy to claim paramedic negligence compensation. Additionally, we explore a paramedic’s duty of care and how if this is breached you could be caused injury or illness that could have been avoided. Evidence is key when making any type of compensation claim so we have provided a list of supporting proof you may want to supply for your case.
Finally, we examine the benefits of instructing a solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis, should you want expert advice with your eligible case. To uncover the validity of your paramedic negligence claim, contact our team of advisors today.
A Guide To Paramedic Negligence Claims
You can get in touch with our advisors now by:
- Calling us on 0161 696 9685
- Completing our Contact Us form to enquire online
- Speaking with us using the live chat function on our website
Select A Section
- What Could My Paramedic Negligence Claim Be Worth?
- Am I Eligible To Claim For Paramedic Negligence?
- How Could a Paramedic Be Negligent?
- What Evidence Does My Paramedic Negligence Claim Need?
- Get Help With Your Paramedic Negligence Claim
- Paramedic Negligence Claim Resources
What Could My Paramedic Negligence Claim Be Worth?
If your paramedic negligence claim succeeds, you could be awarded a settlement containing up to two heads of claim. General damages is the first, compensating you for the suffering and pain you’ve endured due to the harm you’ve experienced. Several factors would be considered to determine the compensation you’re awarded, including:
- How the unnecessary harm you’ve suffered has impacted your quality of life
- How long it takes you to recover
- Any loss of enjoyment you’ve experienced
Furthermore, a document called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) could be utilised to help work out how much your paramedic negligence claim could be worth. This document considers figures previously awarded in court cases and provides valuation brackets for different types of harm. Also, a medical report could be requested as part of the process to help more definitively value your case.
Below, we provide a table of guidance figures for different types of harm taken from the JCG. Please note that since all cases differ, we cannot guarantee what compensation you could receive.
Compensation Table
| Harm | Compensation | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brain | Moderately Severe | £219,070 to £282,010 | Substantial dependence on others due to individual being very seriously disabled. |
| Moderate (i) | £150,110 to £219,070 | Moderate to severe intellectual deficit, with no employment prospects. | |
| Pelvis and Hips | Severe (ii) | £61,910 to £78,400 | Could include fracture dislocation of the pelvis, resulting in impotence. |
| Lesser Injuries (i) | £3,950 to £12,590 | Fracture injury with complete recovery within two years. | |
| Arm | Permanent and Substantial Disablement | £39,170 to £59,860 | Serious fractures of one or both forearms, resulting in significant residual disability that is permanent. |
| Simple Fractures | £6,610 to £19,200 | Suffered in the forearm. | |
| Sickness | Severe Toxicosis | £38,430 to £52,500 | Severe toxicosis causing serious acute pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, and fever, requiring hospital admission. |
| Serious but Short-Lived | £9,540 to £19,200 | Including diarrhoea and vomiting, diminishing over two to four weeks, with some symptoms remaining over a few years. | |
| Injuries to Internal Organs | Chest | £31,310 to £54,830 | Damage to chest and lung(s) causing some continuing disability. |
| Chest | £2,190 to £5,320 | Collapsed lungs from which a full and uncomplicated recovery is made. |
How Do Special Damages Work?
In addition to general damages, your settlement could include special damages. This compensates you for reasonable losses you incur due to negligence. Keeping evidence of these losses is important to ensure you recover all the compensation you’re entitled to.
You could gather evidence of these losses like:
- Payslips – to prove how much earnings you have lost or will lose in the future
- Medical expenses invoices – such as prescription charges
- Receipts – for mobility aids
A solicitor from our panel could help you gather evidence as part of their service if your paramedic negligence claim is eligible. For a free consultation, contact our advisors today.
Am I Eligible To Claim For Paramedic Negligence?
All medical professionals, including paramedics, owe a duty to their patients to provide the correct standard of care. If medical care falls below the minimum expected standard, they could be liable for any avoidable harm you suffer.
To make a paramedic negligence claim, you must satisfy the eligibility requirements. The following three points form the basis of negligence in tort law and must be met to be eligible to claim medical negligence compensation.
- You must have been owed a duty of care
- This duty of care must have been breached
- This breach must have caused you to suffer unnecessary harm
Is There A Time Limit On A Paramedic Negligence Claim?
As well as satisfying the eligibility criteria, you must adhere to the time limits to make a paramedic negligence claim. Generally, you have three years to begin your case from the incident date, or date of knowledge as outlined in the Limitation Act 1980.
However, if someone under 18 is harmed, they cannot act for themselves. The courts could select a litigation friend to act for them, and a pause would be placed on the time limit. Alternatively, they could wait until they’re 18 to act alone and would have three years to begin their case.
Also, if someone lacks the mental capacity to claim for themselves, the courts could select a litigation friend again. The time limit would have an indefinite pause placed upon it. Yet, if they gained the capacity to act alone and no case had already been started, the claimant would have three years to begin one themselves.
To learn more about the time limits, contact our team of advisors today.
How Could a Paramedic Be Negligent?
Below, we provide examples of how a breach of duty could result in an avoidable injury:
- A patient may suffer a stroke misdiagnosis, because their symptoms are not taken seriously, meaning they don’t receive the treatment they require and suffer brain damage.
- Failing to recognise the patient’s need for urgent care causes the patient to go into cardiac arrest.
- While transporting a patient from a residential home to the ambulance they forget to secure the patient, and they fall causing a fractured arm and hip.
To determine if your circumstances enable you to claim paramedic negligence compensation, contact our team of advisors now for a free case assessment.
What Evidence Does My Paramedic Negligence Claim Need?
To make a paramedic negligence claim, you will need to prove not only that you were owed a duty of care and that this was breached but how this breach led to you suffering an avoidable injury.
Below, we provide examples of evidence you should consider providing to support your case:
- Medical records
- Witness contact details
- Diary notes of your symptoms and treatments
Bolam Test
The Bolam test asks appropriately trained professionals if the correct standard of care was applied to determine whether the medical care provided was of an acceptable level. On a case-by-case basis, it will be determined if the Bolam test is to be utilised for paramedic negligence claims. But don’t worry about arranging this, as this will be done for you.
Contact our advisors today if you have questions about the evidence you can provide to support your case.
Get Help With Your Paramedic Negligence Claim
A kind of No Win No Fee agreement referred to as a Conditional Fee Agreement offers the following benefits:
- Upon instruction, you aren’t required to pay any upfront costs for your solicitor’s work
- During the progress of your case, you won’t have to pay any running fees
- If your case fails to succeed, you won’t have to pay your solicitor for their service
- If your case wins, your solicitor will deduct a legally capped percentage of the compensation you receive, which is only small and referred to as a success fee
Our panel of experienced No Win No Fee solicitors offer this agreement and only agree to your instruction if they feel your case has a good chance of success. Therefore, you can be confident your time will be spent well if you work with them.
How To Contact Our Team
You can contact our team of advisors today by:
- Calling us on 0161 696 9685
- Completing our Contact Us form to enquire online
- Speaking with us using the live chat function on our website
Paramedic Negligence Claim Resources
We hope this guide has answered your questions about the compensation you could receive in a successful paramedic negligence claim. For more of our helpful guides, please look here:
- Information providing examples of medical negligence you could claim for and when you could be eligible
- Claiming wrongful death compensation
- Information about claiming for a misdiagnosed blood clot.
You can find some external resources below:
- The NHS constitution, supplied by Gov UK
- Get medical help from the NHS
- A guide from Gov UK about statutory sick pay