A groundbreaking report from DeMayo Law Offices, reveals an unsettling pattern: thousands of Americans injured in car crashes never make it from the crash site to the hospital.

By analyzing data from emergency response systems nationwide, the report identifies major inefficiencies in the EMS chain, from dispatch to transport, that are costing lives.

The Numbers Behind the Delays

The study shows that the median national response time is nine minutes, already above the recommended standard. Yet in areas where response times stretch to 12 minutes or longer, the mortality rate from crashes spikes 46%.

Evening rush hours (5–9 p.m.) are particularly dangerous. At 7:00–7:59 p.m., more than 1,100 emergency notifications were logged, but hundreds of patients failed to reach hospitals.

At the state level, the disparities are even more shocking:

• Georgia: A 1,455-patient gap between scene arrivals and hospital arrivals.
• California: A 1,292-patient shortfall.
• Ohio, Illinois, and North Carolina: Each reporting 900+ fewer hospital transports.

“These are not just numbers, they’re people who called for help and didn’t make it to the care they needed,” the report emphasizes.

Why Patients Are Falling Through the Cracks

Experts point to a combination of factors: overwhelmed dispatch systems, ambulance shortages, and hospital overcrowding that force diversions. In states like Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Kentucky, average transport times now hover around 30 minutes, far beyond the critical “golden hour” for trauma care.

Rural areas face an even steeper challenge, where limited EMS coverage and long travel distances make rapid response nearly impossible.

A Call for Systemic Change

The authors of the study argue that emergency care must be treated as an essential public health infrastructure issue. Their recommendations include:

• Prioritizing rural EMS funding and ambulance availability.
• Leveraging data-driven dispatch to deploy units more efficiently.
• Expanding trauma centers and streamlining patient handoff times.
• Setting national accountability benchmarks for EMS response performance.

The report underscores that these reforms are urgent, especially as summer crash rates rise and emergency systems reach peak strain.

A Legal and Human Imperative

As North Carolina car accident lawyers, DeMayo Law Offices have seen firsthand how delayed response changes lives. “When someone survives a crash only to die waiting for care, that’s a systemic failure,” the firm stated. “These findings show an urgent need for reform, accountability, and compassion.”

With over 40,000 U.S. road deaths last year, the firm warns that without stronger infrastructure and faster response systems, fatality numbers could rise even higher. “Every minute saved is a life saved,” the report concludes. “And every delay is a life we can’t get back.”