Coroner slams paramedics who refused to jump into ditch to rescue dying man

A FURIOUS coroner has attacked paramedics who left an accident victim drowning in a ditch because they did not want to breach health and safety rules.

By: Cyril Dixon Fri, July 19, 2013

11

Michael Thornton wa travelling back from a pub last November when he was involved in the accident

Michael Rose spoke out after hearing how the emergency team refused to treat Michael Thornton as he lay stricken in the 10ft-wide channel.

The 30-year-old farmer was knocked unconscious when the Land Rover Discovery he was in crashed and turned upside down in the water.

But when an ambulance team arrived, they carried out a “risk assessment” and decided it was unsafe to enter the ditch.

A policeman at the scene, PC Leslie Day, leapt in to the water, which was shoulder high, and pulled Mr Thornton to the bank, but the crew were unable to save him.

Mr Rose said the tragedy in Somerset demonstrated how Britain had become a nation of cowards.

“I will not say what I think of health and safety regulations,” he said.

“I was brought up in a country where men risked their own lives to save the lives of others. That was a period in our history which has almost ceased.”

The West Somerset Coroner added: “I praise the actions of PC Day, who dived in, but I think by that stage it was too late.”

Paramedics refused to jump into the ditch where Mr Thornton lay dying

Yesterday, South Western Ambulance Trust said its staff had “made the right choices” and given the “best possible care” to Mr Thornton.

The inquest in Taunton, Somerset, was told Mr Thornton was travelling back from a pub with two friends last November when the car crashed in Rooksbridge in the Somerset Levels, near Weston-super-Mare.

Driver Matthew Braddick and his friend Jason Cheal escaped and dragged Mr Thornton on to the top of the upturned vehicle.

Because their mobile phones were wet, Mr Cheal had to run a mile to fetch Mr Braddick’s father and ask him to dial 999. When the ambulance crew arrived, the paramedic refused to climb down into the shoulder high water and knee-high mud.

Although they treated Mr Thornton after PC Day got him back on dry land, he was pronounced dead at the scene two hours after the accident.

Mr Braddick was later convicted of drink-driving and banned from the road for 40 months, although Mr Rose said he did not think his driving was the main cause of the accident.

The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death after hearing Mr Thornton drowned while his condition was impaired by a head injury and alcohol. He said the Land Rover had not been travelling at more than 30 mph and may have swerved to avoid an animal.

Michael Rose condemned the ambulance crew's behaviour

I was brought up in a country where men risked their own lives to save the lives of others. That was a period in our history which has almost ceased

MIchael Rose, coroner

An ambulance spokesman claimed their staff could not have given a “higher standard of care” than Mr Thornton’s friends, given the patient’s position on top of the submerged car.

“The trust is confident the crew made an appropriate risk assessment on arrival at the scene and administered the best possible care in what were particularly difficult circumstances.

“As in this case, paramedics often have to make critical decisions in the most challenging of circumstances in order to maximise the chances of survival for patients.

“There is no question that during this incident the paramedic made exactly the right choices and performed admirably.”

At the time of his death, Mr Thornton’s mother Mandy Phillips, 53, said: “I expect him to walk back through the door. We will miss him terribly. He lived for his tractor driving.”