Widow sues NHS for £300,000 over loss of her loving husband
She wants cash for gardener and DIY help after missing out on his ‘services’
THE widow of a dentist killed by an ambulance on a 999 call is suing the NHS for more than £300,000 over the ‘loss of his services as a loving husband’.
Michael Daly, 77, was left with critical head injuries after being struck by the wing mirror of the ambulance on a pelican crossing.
His widow Roseline is suing East of England Ambulance Service for her emotional loss, ‘ financial dependency’ on him, the cost of DIY and gardening work that he took care of and psychiatric injuries.
The 77-year- old made the civil claim for compensation after a jury trial found ambulance driver Faye Parson, 41, not guilty of causing his death by careless driving.
The widow’s compensation bid includes claims for the cost of getting a professional to carry out her late husband’s DIY and gardening work at their home.
The writ states that she is also claiming for ‘financial dependency’ on him and the ‘loss of his services as a loving husband’. She is also seeking damages for psychiatric injuries, saying she ‘ has suffered with an adjustment disorder’ due to her husband’s death and ‘post-traumatic symptoms’.
Solicitor Sam David, representing the family, said the majority of the claim was for continued loss of actual earnings and Mr Daly’s pension. ‘He was the breadwinner so the wife has an entitlement to bring a financial dependency claim.
‘The loss of services…he, as the husband… did some of the DIY around the house and he was doing some of the gardening and things like that. Because he is not there anymore you can then claim for some of the provision of getting a professional to do the things he would have done.
‘But there’s also the claim for the loss of the love and affection of a husband,’ he added.
The claim was lodged at the High Court after the Trust ‘aggressively’ denied liability for the accident, he added. ‘We are now almost two years on from when this accident occurred and these protracted proceedings have only exacerbated the unimaginable sadness and distress that has been felt by the family since the passing of Dr Daly.
‘We regret that the EEAS has so far failed to acknowledge responsibility in causing the death and our efforts to try to resolve this civil case away from the courts has so far been unsuccessful.’
Dr Daly’s life support was turned off 17 weeks after the accident in February 2016. He suffered severe brain injuries after he was hit by the Mercedes Sprinter ambulance outside his village’s library in Danbury, Essex. He died on June 3 after he contracted the MRSA bug and suffered a cardiac arrest.
The driver, Faye Parson, denied causing death by careless driving saying the pensioner had stepped out from behind a van. The motherof-two was acquitted by a jury in July and said she was ‘absolutely gutted’ by Dr Daly’s death.
His family has previously blasted the NHS for refusing to pay their £10,000 travel costs visiting him during his 121- day stay at St George’s Hospital in London.
Despite having to catch multiple buses, trains and Tubes, Mrs Daly made the five-hour round trip to visit her husband every day.
Her daughter Alexandra, 45, and son Adam, 42, also had to scale back their jobs to support the dying father. Speaking after his death, Miss Daly said the family were ‘saddened and confused’ as to why no financial support had been offered by the ambulance service during the ‘harrowing time’.
The NHS trust’s defence to the claim was not available from the court and the contents from the writ are yet to be tested before a judge. EEAS declined to issue a new statement responding to the High Court writ.
A spokesman said: ‘As an ambulance service we are here to help save and improve peoples’ lives so this has been a tragic case for all involved. We are pleased for Faye of the outcome of this case... This has understandably been a very difficult time for Faye and we will continue to support her… Our thoughts remain with Dr Daly’s family.
‘Responding to emergency calls and driving under emergency conditions is extremely challenging and all our patient facing staff receive advanced driver training.’
‘Saddened and confused’