John Nicholson, 75, is suing the NHS for over £1 million after he sustained a severe neck injury in 2019 due to a rare sleep disorder that causes him to physically act out his violent dreams. The incident occurred when he dove headfirst out of bed during a nightmare and broke his neck; Nicholson claims the ambulance response was delayed, and improper handling worsened his injuries, leading to partial paralysis from the neck down. He spent three months in Salisbury District Hospital’s Regional Spinal Injuries Centre and now requires a wheelchair due to incomplete paraplegia. Both NHS trusts involved have admitted some liability for medical negligence.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-19,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
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An elderly man who was left partly paralysed from the neck down when he dived out of bed while suffering a nightmare is suing the NHS for over £1million.
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John Nicholson, 75, suffers from a sleep disorder which causes him to 'act out' his often violent dreams – as his muscles remain active and responsive rather than dormant when in repose.
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He incurred his life-changing injuries four years ago when a bad dream saw him becoming physically animated and culminated in him diving head first out of bed in the night.
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His partner, Beryl Cole, heard him hit the floor and rushed to his aid, calling an ambulance when she realised he was seriously injured.
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Mr Nicholson says that the ambulance took almost three hours to reach his home near Yelverton in Devon.
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Initially he was seated by paramedics, and only laid flat when his condition deteriorated.
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John Nicholson, pictured with his partner Beryl Cole, is suing the ambulance service and the NHS for £1million after he became paralysed from the neck down following a severe nightmare
Mr Nicholson suffers from a rare sleep disorder which causes him to 'act out' his often violent dreams as his muscles remain active and responsive rather than dormant when resting
Mr Nicholson and his partner both say the paramedics seemed 'uncaring' and his medical notes show he was described as 'dead weight' and 'not making any effort to move himself'.
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He says the responders should have immobilised him earlier but failed to understand the extent of his injury until surgeons started to operate many hours later.
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He finally reached Derriford Hospital in Plymouth just before 10am but was then kept waiting in the ambulance for a further six and a half hours before being taken for a CT scan.
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This showed he had suffered a fracture dislocation of his neck with injury to his spinal cord.
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Rather than being admitted to the hospital he was then returned to the ambulance where a doctor reviewed him at 6pm, recommending a hard collar for his neck.
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In total he was in the ambulance for some 12 hours before he was eventually admitted to the hospital for neurological observation, at which point he was experiencing the sensation of pins and needles in his arms.
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But on the afternoon of the following day his blood pressure suddenly dropped and he became unable to move his arms and legs properly.
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He went on to spend three months at the Regional Spinal Injuries Centre at Salisbury District Hospital and now has incomplete paraplegia and has to use a wheelchair.
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The retiree, who is partly paralysed from the neck down, says he has persistent weakness in his arms and legs, numbness and pins and needles, which he attributes to medical negligence.
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He is now suing South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust for damages for negligence, seeking over £1million.
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Both trusts have made partial admissions of liability and say inappropriate movement and delays in treatment can exacerbate spinal cord injury.
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Mr Nicholson suffers from Parkinson's disease, which causes tremors, as well as his rapid eye movement (REM) sleep disorder.
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Normally during REM sleep, muscles are paralysed and cannot move but sufferers can often have dreams involving violent or aggressive actions, or feel they are being chased, and can scream, shout, kick, punch and jump out of bed.
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He suffers from fatigue and depression, and says he has lost his independence while his daily activities are significantly compromised.
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Before the accident he was active and independent, enjoying walking his dog, socialising, swimming, visiting the gym and golf range, and taking holidays with Beryl.
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He also maintained his house and garden, and had a good quality of life, he says.
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Mr Nicholson's partner Beryl was there when he fell out of bed and rushed to his aid, calling an ambulance when she realised he was seriously injured.
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Mr Nicholson says that the ambulance took almost three hours to reach his home near Yelverton in Devon
The ambulance service has admitted there was a complete failure to appropriately immobilise and handle him after his fall, and that its failure to do so was a breach of duty.
The hospital trust says the working diagnosis was a spinal fracture, and that he should have been immobilised in full spinal immobilisation pending a review, rather than being sat upright in bed in an ambulance.
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It admits he should have been referred for an urgent neurosurgical review earlier.
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The Aporia
