Mother who had fingers amputated after dog bite sues paramedics for advising she 'stay at home and take paracetamol'
8 May 2024, 09:08 | Updated: 8 May 2024, 09:18
A mother-of-four who had her fingers partially amputated after developing sepsis when she was bitten by her dog is now suing paramedics after they suggested she remain at home and take paracetamol.
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Michelle Ellis, 45, from Plymouth was bitted by her pet dog twice - on her right wrist and forearm - in January 2021.
Two days later the mother complained of "flu-like symptoms" and called an ambulance.
Paramedics then attended her home when Ms Ellis' son informed them that she had been bitten days earlier. She also presented the medical professionals with mottled and bruised skin around the bite marks.
But Mr Ellis was not taken to hospital, despite her shivering and experiencing breathlessness, and remained at home.
Instead the mother was advised to strip off and cover herself with a sheet, using a fan to try and lower her body temperature, court documents claim.
Paramedics also suggested she take paracetamol in an effort to stave off the pain she was experiencing following the bite, it added.
The next day Ms Ellis was rushed to the local Derriford Hospital in Plymouth where she suffered multi-organ failure and was later diagnosed with sepsis.
She was placed into an induced coma and resuscitated twice. The mother also underwent an emergency tracheostomy so she could breathe. Parts of all ten of Ms Ellis' fingers and thumbs were forced to be amputated
Ms Ellis is now taking legal action against the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) - which dispatched the paramedics.
She is suing for damages amounting to more than £200,000, claiming the paramedics' negligence contributed to her serious medical complications and life-long complications.
According to legal documents, seen by MailOnline, Ms Ellis' lawyers argue: "The claimant's (Ms Ellis) injuries were caused or materially contributed to by the negligence of the Defendant (SWASFT), its servants or agents in the mismanagement of the Claimant's treatment.'
The lawyers continued: 'Each of the paramedics and other clinical staff employed by the Defendant owed to the Claimant a duty of care in respect of the clinical advice, actions and treatment provided by them.
"The Defendant is vicariously liable for any breach of such duty."
The claim relates to the dog bite marks that were "visible" when Ms Ellis was rushed to hospital the next day, and recorded in her clinical notes.
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The lawyers state: "They must, therefore, have been visible when paramedics attended the Claimant between 23.08 on 15 January 2021 and 00.23h the following day."
The document notes that Ms Ellis has been left with live-long complications have left her unable to fully use her hands and remains in some pain. She also said he has been left with PTSD and depression following the incident.
"She has been left with significant cosmetic defects and significant loss of function in her hands which will be permanent," the document says.
"She also experiences pain and sensitivity in the tips of her index fingers which will probably improve but, if it does not, will require further surgery."
Lawyers argue that paramedics should have taken an adequate medical history when they were called to Ms Ellis' home and should have noticed the bite marks on her hand. They claim the paramedics were negligent in failing to carry out a proper examination.
The documents claim that paramedics were negligent in noticing the bite marks, rising heart rate, temperature, and skin changes - which would have resulted in them considering that she contracted sepsis. Ms Ellis would then have been taken to hospital a day early where she would have avoided some of the complications.
A spokesperson for South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust said is was "inappropriate for us to comment at this stage."
