Legal News

A genetic scientist who suffered severe brain damage after an ambulance took nearly two hours to arrive at her home has been awarded a £5 million compensation settlement.

Caren Paterson, 36, collapsed at her home in Islington, north London in 2007. Her boyfriend called the emergency services for an ambulance, but the road in which Ms Paterson lived was prioritised unnecessarily as “high risk” and the ambulance crew waited 100 metres away until police could attend.

LBC News reports that it took 102 minutes for an ambulance crew and police to arrive at Ms Paterson’s home in Hargrave Road, Islington – but having waited for nearly two hours for help, five minutes before they did, Ms Paterson suffered a cardiac arrest and severe brain damage.

The ambulance crew had decided to wait for police to attend, despite the fact no officers were available immediately – and disregarding two further 999 calls from Ms Paterson’s house to the emergency services.

Ms Paterson’s boyfriend had advised the emergency services operator at the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust that he had found his girlfriend collapsed at home, unconscious and breathing abnormally, with her lips having “turned blue”.

Ms Paterson had previously worked as a genetic scientist at King’s College London – however, she now requires round-the-clock care 24/7 and it is unlikely she will ever be able to return to work.

The effects of her brain injury have left her with amnesia – and she also suffers from confusion and disorientation.

At the High Court in London, Ms Paterson was awarded a lump sum of £1.4m – she will receive further annual payments to cover the cost of her care and rehabilitation.

The legal representative of the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Philip Havers QC, said his client expressed its “sincere apologies” for its shortcomings.

In court, Judge Richard Parkes QC approved the settlement and also paid tribute to Ms Paterson’s mother.

After a hearing at the High Court, her mother, Eleanor Paterson, called the effects of her daughter’s brain injury “distressing” because it had robbed her daughter of “all her aspirations”. Mrs Paterson – who lives in Northumberland – said:

“The thought of an ambulance crew sitting waiting round the corner while my daughter lay in her flat as her condition went from serious to life-threatening, causing irreparable damage to her brain, is still shocking – and I hope no one ever has to go through what we have.

“My daughter was a successful and ambitious scientist, but it is so distressing that all of her aspirations and ambitions have been taken away from her because of her brain injury.

“Clearly we would rather not be in this situation at all – and nothing will ever return our daughter to how she was before.

“But it is a weight off our minds to know that she will now be able to continue to receive the care, treatment and specialist attention that she needs,” said Mrs Paterson.

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Duncan Lewis serious injury solicitors can advise on how to make a no win no fee personal injury claim for serious injuries, including (but not limited to):

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Claimants usually have three years from the date of injury in which to make a no win no fee serious injury compensation claim – and children have three years from the age of 18 in which to claim.

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