Ambulance drivers and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) are responsible for responding to the scene of an emergency, stabilizing patients, and transporting them to the hospital, where doctors can examine them.
In most cases, both ambulance drivers and EMTs take pride in their jobs and do everything possible to ensure a safe trip to the hospital.
Unfortunately, that is not always the case.
If you’ve been injured, in an ambulance accident or as a patient who needed treatment, you may be wondering, Can you sue an ambulance service?
In this article, the New Mexico medical malpractice lawyers at Poulos & Coates go over the details about suing an ambulance company.
If you have questions, please contact us today.Â
Can You Sue the Ambulance Service?
Yes, if you were injured as a result of an ambulance service’s negligence, you can bring a personal injury claim against the party responsible for your injuries.
This may include the ambulance driver, emergency medical technicians, or the ambulance service itself.
However, the nature of your injury and how it occurred will determine if you need to bring an auto accident claim or a medical malpractice claim.
What Is an Ambulance Negligence Claim?
An ambulance negligence claim is a personal injury case filed against an ambulance company. There are two main types of ambulance negligence claims: motor vehicle accident claims and medical malpractice claims.
If you were involved in a car accident with an ambulance, and the ambulance was at fault, you can bring a personal injury case against the driver.
As with all drivers, ambulance drivers have a duty of care to other motorists on the road.
The fact that an ambulance driver has good reason to speed or cut-through traffic somewhat modifies the duty owed to other drivers.
However, ambulance drivers must still exercise great caution when transporting patients or responding to the scene of an emergency. Â
The other type of ambulance negligence claim is a medical malpractice claim. Emergency medical technicians are healthcare providers.
Thus, they owe a duty of care to their patients. While an EMT’s duty doesn’t require they save every patient’s life, it does require they provide a certain level of care.
For example, if you were involved in a car accident, most EMTs know they should exercise extreme caution when moving you. This precaution protects your back from further injury.
If an EMT negligently rolls you over onto the gurney and you get hurt, the EMT may be liable for medical malpractice. Of course, this is just one example; there are many others.
Have You Been Injured Due to an Ambulance Service’s Negligence?
If you were harmed while in an ambulance, you may have wondered, Can you sue an ambulance service? The answer is clear—yes, you can.
However, the harder question is whether you can prove negligence.
At the law firm of Poulos & Coates, we proudly represent the victims of medical malpractice, helping them recover compensation for what they’ve been through.
We are the only New Mexico law firm that focuses only on medical malpractice cases.
We have more than 70 years of combined legal experience helping clients, and we look forward to putting that experience to work for you.
To learn more and to schedule a free consultation, contact the team at Poulos & Coates, today or call us at 575-376-6600.
Victor Poulos
Vic Poulos & Greig Coates became law partners in April of 2002, when the two medical malpractice litigators merged their offices, combining what is now over seventy years of litigation experience, to form Poulos & Coates, LLP. Licensed to practice before all State Courts of Texas, New Mexico, Iowa, and Kansas. Licensed to practice before the United States District Courts of Kansas, Iowa, New Mexico, and Texas (Western, Eastern, Southern, and Northern Districts of Texas), as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the U.X. Ax Court.
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