Medical Emergency — Driver or Passenger Requiring Urgent Treatment
Both council and private parking authorities and operators accept genuine medical emergencies as grounds for cancellation of a parking charge. A medical emergency that required the driver to park in contravention of restrictions — or prevented return to the vehicle within the permitted time — is a compelling mitigating circumstance. Evidence from a doctor, hospital, A&E attendance record, or paramedic record greatly strengthens this ground. Most tribunals uphold this ground with sufficient evidence.
Legal basis
Mitigating circumstances accepted by POPLA, IAS, Parking and Bus Lane Tribunal for Scotland; London Tribunals guidance; BPA/IPC Code of Practice (compassionate cancellation)
How to identify this in your case
At the time of the parking contravention, you, a passenger, or someone you were responding to (e.g. a call from hospital) was experiencing a genuine medical emergency. This includes sudden illness, injury, heart attack, seizure, acute mental health crisis, childbirth, or any other situation requiring immediate unplanned medical attendance.
Sample appeal wording
I am writing to appeal parking charge/PCN [reference] on the grounds of exceptional mitigating circumstances — a genuine medical emergency. On [date] at approximately [time], I [parked at this location / was unable to return to my vehicle] because: [Describe the emergency: e.g. 'My passenger suffered a sudden cardiac episode and I had to call an ambulance immediately. I had no choice but to leave my vehicle where it was while I attended to them and waited for the ambulance to arrive.'] Supporting Evidence: - [A&E attendance record from [hospital] dated [date]] - [GP letter confirming the emergency] - [Ambulance service call record reference] I had no control over these circumstances and could not reasonably have complied with the parking restrictions. I respectfully request cancellation of this charge on compassionate grounds. This request is supported by the evidence attached.
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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Scan my ticketSources
- POPLA guidance on exceptional circumstances
- BPA Code of Practice compassionate cancellation