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Medic suspended: mistakes hit-and-run victim as ‘drunk as a skunk’

He made the 27-year-old walk to the ambulance and his injuries, which included a broken back, 12 broken ribs and brain damage were not discovered until arriving at the hospital

The Surrey Comet

CHESSINGTON, England — A paramedic has been suspended for a year after he mistook as drunk a man who had in fact been victim of a hit-and-run, suffering a broken back and 12 broken ribs.

Philip Gaiger, from Chessington, who was a paramedic for South East Coast Ambulance Service, was found guilty of six charges of misconduct for mistreatment at a Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) hearing in London last week.

Mr Gaiger wrongly branded Matt Wonnacott, of Hawskhill Way, Esher, as “drunk as a skunk” after he was found lying on a grass verge in Courtlands Avenue, Esher, with multiple and life-threatening injuries.

Read full story: Chessington paramedic suspended for a year after treating seriously Esher injured man as though he were drunk