A Tayside woman who lost her husband following an ambulance error is campaigning for changes to the law.
Jane Watson from Montrose said “no amount of compensation” could make up for the death of her husband, Alexander, in 2012.
Records show the 50-year-old died of complications arising from alcohol misuse after junior paramedics assessed him.
The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) admitted mishandling Mr Watson’s treatment and that technicians did not administer the right checks or keep proper records.
Paramedics did not want to take the unresponsive patient to nearby hospitals because of stigma surrounding drunk admissions and he died in his wife’s care.
According to the SAS review, Mr Watson gave a Glasgow Coma Scale reading of six when he was checked over in the back of the ambulance a reading close to coma.
Mrs Watson says it is too late for her to seek compensation but believes it should be paid to the families of those who die in circumstances of medical error.
She sought the advice of three law firms but was told legal aid would not cover the expected fees and she could not afford to lose anything else in order to chance the prohibitive charges.
Advisers also said they could not take up a civil action as medical negligence claims are generally hard to prove.
Her case was taken up by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, which was satisfied the SAS had taken action “to prevent a repeat occurrence”.
Ombudsman Graham Pettie wrote: “The crew did not want to take him to Ninewells Hospital as this would have meant transporting him from Montrose to Dundee with an alcohol problem which would have drawn comment from A&E staff.”
North East MSP Alex Johnstone said he would raise Mrs Watson’s case with Health Minister Shona Robison “at the earliest opportunity”.
In 2012 Crieff couple Martin and Lisa Gray successfully campaigned for a change in the regulations which meant crews on official rest periods were not notified of 999 calls after the death of son Martyn.
After months of haggling, ambulance staff agreed to interrupt tea breaks to respond to emergency calls.