Woman hit by ambulance secures compensation

Posted 03/05/2011

Personal injury compensation has been approved for a woman whose car was hit by an ambulance on an emergency call.

Caron Lake, 49, was collecting her daughter from the museum where she worked in Redcar when she was suddenly hit by a North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) Trust vehicle being driven by Colin Hayden.

It was travelling at 50 miles per hour and the victim said if it had hit her directly instead of going into the rear door, she would have been killed, the Gazette Live reports.

Instead, Mrs Lake sustained back problems and was left traumatised by the incident. She took legal action against the NEAS Trust, alleging that the driver had made a number of errors prior to the crash.

This week, a hearing agreed that Mr Hayden had put himself in Mrs Lake’s blind spot and had also ignored her right signal, assuming she meant to go left as the museum was closed.

The NEAS Trust admitted 100 per cent liability and agreed to pay the victim £18,500 in personal injury compensation.

Emergency vehicles are permitted to break some traffic laws if they have to, but they are legally obliged to drive carefully and can be prosecuted if they make a serious mistake.

Simon Davis, a personal injury specialist at Ashtons Legal, comments: “Despite what the public may think, the emergency services do not have a ‘Get Out Of Jail Free’ card when it comes to driving offences or negligent driving. While the courts will be kindly towards extraordinary driving in extraordinary situations, the rules of the road apply to everyone. Anyone injured in these circumstances should seek legal advice from an experienced personal injury solicitor.”