Paramedics said breathing man was dead

Two ambulance crew members called to a road crash in Norfolk have been disciplined after pronouncing a man dead while he was still breathing.

An ambulance service manager said the crew had covered Artur Palchimowicz, 22, with a tarpaulin. A policeman lifted it and realised the injured man was still breathing.

Mr Palchimowicz, from Diss, died in hospital after the crash near Norwich in December, the East of England Ambulance Service spokeswoman said.

She said both members of the ambulance crew were suspended and given extra training before returning to work.

The two paramedics were David Dickson and Andrew Took. Mr Dickson, who has four years experience, said: “I examined him and his eyes were broken and unfixed, there was no sign of breathing, no pulse. It would have been normal to do an ECG, I can't explain it.”

Mr Took, with 20 years experience, said: “Normally we would do an ECG and that hadn't been done. I was really very, very shell-shocked and I don't think I was personally at the best of my ability.”