An alleged assault on the weekend shows why paramedics still have one of the most dangerous jobs in the country.

A teenager has been accused of punching an ambulance officer in Darwin on the weekend.

The punch allegedly caused the paramedic to hit his head and be knocked unconscious.

Paramedic Reece Ravlich, responded to call at about 10:20pm on Saturday.

Mr Ravlich was directed to a nearby house party in Alawa, in Darwin's northern suburbs, where he found a man who had been hit by a car

But when he began attending to the victim, 19-year-old Peter Wayne Eastley Cook allegedly punched Mr Ravlich, causing him to fall backwards, hitting his head.

The teenager has been arrested and charged with assault.

He was refused bail at a hearing on Monday.

Mr Eastley Cook's lawyer Peter Maley says his client was involved a “tragic” single vehicle rollover in 2012, which left him with a serious brain injury that required titanium skull implants.

Mr Maley told the court his client’s mother says he has been “prone to angry outbursts” since the accident.

Prosecutor Dodie Roden pointed out that Eastley Cook had been charged with violence-related offences before his head injury in November 2012.

Eastley Cook's lawyer said witnesses to the incident did not see his client’s fist actually connect with Mr Ravlich, and instead described seeing the teenager swing a punch, after which the ambulance worker tripped over a wheelie-bin and hit his head.

Regardless of the outcome, ambulance officers still operate in a very dangerous environment, made worse by the violent actions of members of the public.

St John Ambulance Craig Garraway has told the ABC that paramedics have to handle abuse almost every day.

“Every day we deal with verbal assaults and pushing and shoving in different environments,” he said.

“I'm sure every paramedic experiences something every day, but it is not something you expect to go to work and have to deal with.”