Andrew Fifita, the Australian professional rugby player for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League (NRL), was inadvertently hit in the larynx by a Newcastle player during a rugby game. He was sidelined but was still able to cheer for his teammates. His condition deteriorated rapidly though and if not for the paramedics, he would have lost his life. In the US, lawsuits were separately filed against paramedics in the deaths of William Marshall and Elijah McClain. There are two sides to the coin that is the work that paramedics do.
Lives Saved And Lives Lost
Paramedics are often called ambulance drivers, but this isn’t the only thing they do. They do drive the ambulance anywhere there’s an emergency. More importantly, paramedics will do what it takes to keep a patient alive until they are brought to the hospital. For every million people, there will be 4,100 trauma cases. With the skill paramedics have and the use of well-equipped ambulances, it’s assumed that 300 lives for every 1 million people can be saved every year.
Sadly, there are also instances when lives aren’t saved because of paramedic negligence. Paramedics have the tricky and complicated job of providing first response services to patients who are oftentimes involved in accidents or emergencies. As paramedics deliver emergency treatment, there could be a mistake in diagnosing a patient and giving the wrong medical remedy which could result in a patient’s injury or death.
Can anybody file a lawsuit if their loved one died while under the care of a paramedic? Yes, but it must be proven that there was a breach in carrying out a paramedic’s duty and damage has been inflicted on another because of the infringement of duty. Violation of duty may arise from the use of non-standard care, failing to bring the required medical equipment or a poorly-stocked ambulance. The success of a negligence claim against a paramedic will depend on how a patient or the family will show that the paramedic failed to give the accepted standard of care and because of this failure injury was inflicted on the patient or worse, death.
People rely on paramedics to help save lives. Though their job is very, very difficult, it is expected that they will give the proper emergency care. If they do make mistakes, then they need to be held liable.