When involved in an emergency, one of the first things many consider is how quickly an ambulance could get to the scene. As soon as you or your loved one is in an emergency that requires medical assistance, you know that you or they will be in good hands when an ambulance arrives.
Unfortunately, accidents can happen at any time. Of course, accidents can involve the ones meant to protect us. Your trusted ambulance could get into an accident that could exacerbate your previous injuries or even cause death. According to the National Safety Council, 31 people died in ambulance-related accidents in 2020 alone.
In more critical emergencies or situations requiring rapid long-distance transport, air ambulance services are often relied upon to provide timely medical evacuation and care. These specialized services are crucial in cases where ground ambulances might face delays or cannot reach remote areas.
Ambulances Have the Right Of Way
Under normal circumstances, ambulances have the right of way when their lights and sirens are on. But not all drivers respond to the sirens and lights, sometimes resulting in accidents. At other times accidents can result from the ambulance driver’s error.
Several factors make an ambulance injury particularly dangerous. The gurney may not be adequately secured to the floor like a car seat. A gurney is designed to slide in and out of an ambulance easily. Therefore, they have the potential to slide around an ambulance when involved in accidents.
While the patient is secured to the gurney, they may not be as secure as they would in a car seat. Also, attending paramedics do not have any safeguards, and a collision could result in severe injuries or even death.
Who Is Liable?
Holding an ambulance driver liable for an accident can be challenging because most ambulances are state-owned, meaning the doctrine of sovereign immunity may apply. Under the doctrine of sovereign immunity, citizens can not file an injury lawsuit against the government or its entities.
However, there are situations where this immunity may not apply. Ambulances and other emergency vehicles are allowed to disregard some traffic rules while on their way to answering an emergency. However, they are obligated to follow specific traffic laws. For example, while they have the right of way while their sirens and lights are on, an ambulance driver cannot assume that all drivers will yield the right of way and must operate safely given the conditions.
If a private ambulance driver blatantly disregards the safety of other road users, causing an accident, their employer could be held liable for resulting damages.
An ambulance company can also be liable for an accident when the ambulance driver does not have lights and sirens on, blasts through an intersection, turns at high speed, or drives in spaces too narrow for the vehicle. The same could apply to government-owned ambulances under some circumstances.
What to Do After an Ambulance Accident
Lawsuits involving ambulances can vary widely from those involving ordinary vehicles. For example, the statute of limitation for cases against government entities can reduce significantly, so you should ensure you do not waste any time.
“Besides time limitations, special rules could apply to state-owned ambulances making it difficult to recover damages,” says medical malpractice lawyer Arren Waldrep of Price Benowitz Accident Injury Lawyers, LLP. Therefore, you will need to work with an injury lawyer that has experience working on cases that involve government entities.
You may also need to follow the standard procedure of any other accident, such as seeking medical attention and documenting the accident scene by taking pictures and video footage of the scene and your injuries. Additionally, you may need to collect testimonies and contact details of witnesses that may be willing to testify in court.
