Civil Partner Awarded £85,000 After Ambulance Service Misclassified Heart Attack Symptoms

The Claimant was the surviving civil partner of an individual who sadly died in 2021.

The deceased’s family initially telephoned the Ambulance Service reporting that the deceased was suffering from chest pains and was struggling to breathe. The call was categorised as a Category 2 response.

A further telephone call was made approximately 10 minutes later. During this call, the deceased was described as being “just about awake”, experiencing “really bad chest pain” and appearing “sweaty, white and clammy”, while going in and out of consciousness. Despite these symptoms, the call was again categorised as a Category 2 response.

A third call was made after a further 40 minutes. At this point, the deceased was described as “gasping for breath” and making noisy breathing sounds. This call was finally categorised as a Category 1 emergency. An ambulance arrived approximately 10 minutes later. Despite attempts at resuscitation, the deceased could not be revived and died as a result of cardiac arrest.

The Claimant alleged that the deceased died as a result of the Ambulance Service’s failure to categorise the first and second calls as Category 1 emergencies. It was argued that had the calls been correctly categorised, it was more likely than not that an ambulance would have arrived on scene within seven minutes and that the deceased would have survived.

The Ambulance Trust admitted the allegations but failed to respond to any proposals to settle the claim. As a result, court proceedings were issued. The Defendants put the Claimant to proof that negligence had caused the untimely death, denied that an earlier attendance would have occurred, and questioned whether the deceased’s life expectancy would have been full in any event.

The Claimant sought damages for:

• Funeral expenses

• Bereavement damages

• Loss of partner’s care and attention

• Past dependency on services

• Interest on past loss

• Future dependency on services

John Bennett a clinical negligence expert at Forbes Solicitors, secured an £85,000 settlement for the Claimants civil partner.

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