Ambulance Delay Leads to £5 Million Damages Payout

A promising young scientist who suffered catastrophic brain damage after waiting for more than an hour and a half for paramedics to arrive at her home has won a compensation package worth £5 million from the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

The medical researcher's boyfriend dialled 999 after she collapsed in the bedroom of her London flat. An ambulance waited for some time only yards from her home because the address was considered to be in a 'high risk' area and the crew had been told to wait for a police escort.

She suffered a cardiac arrest a few minutes before paramedics eventually attended and was left so badly disabled that she will never work again and will always require 24-hour care.

After a personal injury claim was made on the woman's behalf, the Trust agreed a settlement in the form of a £1.4 million lump sum, plus annual, index-linked payments to fund her care for life. The total settlement was valued at £5 million.

Although nothing will ever return her to her previous condition, the settlement means she will now be able to continue to receive the care, treatment and specialist attention she needs.