“And that’s Magic!”—Making Public Bodies Liable for Failure to Confer Benefits

Extract

The facts of Kent v. Giffiths [2000] W.L.R. 1158 were that the claimant had suffered an asthma attack and was attended by a doctor at her home. At 4.25 p.m. the doctor called an ambulance, gave the patient’s name, address, age and condition, and requested that she be transferred immediately to casualty where she was expected. Ambulance control replied “Okay doctor”. At 4.35 p.m. the claimant’s husband was assured, on making a second call, that the ambulance was on its way. He was told to hang on for another seven or eight minutes. A similar response was given to a third call made sixteen minutes later. The ambulance finally arrived forty minutes after the initial call was made. The claimant suffered respiratory arrest resulting in brain damage and a miscarriage. At trial Turner J. held that the London Ambulance Service (LAS) was liable for breach of a duty of care. He found not only that there was no reasonable explanation for the delay, but also that the ambulance crew had falsified their records ([1999] Lloyds Rep. Med. 424). Had the ambulance arrived when it should, there was a high probability that the respiratory arrest would have been averted.