Can You Sue for a Medical Transport Injury?

Were you injured in an accident while being driven to a medical appointment in a medical transport van? Many people rely on companies which specialize in transporting patients to medical appointments, including seniors, people with disabilities, people in wheelchairs, and dialysis patients.

An accident involving a medical transport van can happen when the van is transporting the patient from their home, a hospital, nursing home, or assisted living facility to a clinic, doctor’s or dialysis appointment, hospital, and rehabilitation facility.

Types of Medical Transport Accidents

A medical transport accident can involve a collision with another vehicle, either caused by the negligence of the other driver or the driver of the medical van. A medical transport patient can also be injured due to the unsafe handling and care by the transport company’s employee.

Examples of medical transport accidents include:

Medical transport van collides with another vehicle.
Patient is dropped while being loaded or unloaded from the van.
Medical transport employee loses control of wheelchair or gurney and cause it to drop to tip over and patient to fall out or fall off.
Wheelchair lift malfunctions, resulting in the passenger’s injury.
Medical van driver or attendant does not properly restrain the passenger, causing the passenger to be thrown around inside the van during sharp turns or abrupt stops.

The type of medical transport accident will dictate what party can be held liable for the injured passenger’s damages, including medical costs, lost wages and pain and suffering.

Heightened Duty of Care a When Medical Transport Vehicle is Involved

In California, a medical transport van is considered a “common carrier,” which is a company that transports passengers for pay. Due to their legal designation as a common carrier, under the law, medical transport vans and companies owe a higher duty of care to their passengers than the average motorist. This increased duty of care benefits a plaintiff passenger who is suing for a medical transport injury because the evidential burden to prove the company was negligent will be lower. Certain federal laws and guidelines like those established by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) can also act in the plaintiff’s or claimant’s favor if it is found that the medical transport company violated those rules.

The heightened duty of care applies to:

Ambulances
Non-emergency medical transport vehicles
Medical transport vans
Access medical transportation vans