The cause of death was brain stem encephalitis connected to a septicemia triggered by the COVID-19 infection. The family waited 81 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.
On 21 July 2023, the New Taipei District Court rejected a request for state compensation filed by the father of a toddler who died for complications related to COVID-19 in April 2022, after having waited 81 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. The toddler died due to brain stem encephalitis connected to a septicemia triggered by the COVID-19 infection. The plaintiff asked for state compensation arguing that his son died due to the delay in the arrival of the ambulance.
However, the court rejected the claim pointing out that the plaintiff had not established a clear causal relation between such delay and the death of the toddler. In particular, there was no proof that a causal relation existed between the death and the way government officials handled the request of the ambulance. A claim for state compensation requires the plaintiff to prove the connection between the harmful event and an infringement of people’s freedom and rights through intentional or negligent actions or a failure to carry out duties when performing officials function. In the specific case, no connection was established according to the court.
Furthermore, the court pointed out that the report of the Control Yuan concerning such case contained reference to the opinion of four experts, none of which believed that the toddler could have survived had the ambulance arrived earlier.
