Wednesday, February 19th, 2025
Lynda O’Neill & Others v Scottish Ambulance Service [2025] CSOH 17
This medical negligence action arose out of the death of the late Brian O’Neill. Compass Chambers’ Hugh Masters acted for the pursuers together with Lauren Sutherland KC. Andrew Bergin, also of Compass Chambers, and Jamie McGowan represented the defenders.
In June 2020, Mr O’Neill was visiting an off-grid hutting community. One evening he fell and sustained a laceration to his head. A telephone triage was carried out by a paramedic employed by the defenders. The paramedic spoke to a psychiatrist who was a fellow visitor at the hutting site. The 999 call was unrecorded, and the content of the discussion was disputed. The psychiatrist gave evidence that she advised the paramedic that an ambulance was required. The paramedic disputed this and gave evidence that the psychiatrist had indicated she would manage Mr O’Neill without ambulance assistance. No ambulance was sent, and the following morning Mr O’Neill was found unresponsive, and could not be resuscitated.
The pursuers contended that the paramedic breached her duty of care owed per Hunter v Hanley by not sending an ambulance to an individual who was intoxicated and had sustained a head injury. The defenders contended that the paramedic was entitled to rely upon the psychiatrist’s assessment that an ambulance was not required. It was further contended that Mr O’Neill’s level of intoxication was not clinically significant to mandate ambulance assistance.
The Court found the psychiatrist to be a credible and reliable witness whose account regarding the 999 call was preferred. It was held that the paramedic failed in several duties owed, including a failure to carry out a comprehensive triage assessment and crucially a failure to send an ambulance.
On the issue of causation, the defenders contended that Mr O’Neill would not have attended hospital had an ambulance been allocated and attended. The Court rejected this argument and held that a causal link had been established; namely that Mr O’Neill would have followed advice. It was held that basic wound repairs would have resulted in the head laceration being sutured and Mr O’Neill would have survived.
Quantum was agreed between parties and damages in excess of £500,000 were awarded.
A copy of the Opinion of Lord Young can be found here.