Man diagnosed with epiglottitis dies after errors
AC, a 37 year old man, began to suffer with a sore throat in June 2008. This became worse, and a few days later the water that he was drinking started coming out of his nose and he began gasping for breath. An ambulance was called and he was taken to Harrogate Hospital where he suffered an epileptic fit and was diagnosed with epiglottitis, which is an inflammation of the flap at the base of the tongue that protects the windpipe.
At Harrogate Hospital, a decision was made to send AC to the specialist Ear Nose and Throat department at York Hospital. Despite AC's epiglottitis diagnosis and fragile epileptic state, no efforts were made to protect AC's airway and he arrested in the ambulance. The junior anaesthetist in the ambulance was unable to carry out a tracheotomy and instead attempted to put a pipe down his throat in order to open his airway, but in doing so caused a lot of damage to his airway. He stopped breathing for approximately six minutes. By the time that AC had reached the hospital, he had suffered very severe brain injury and epilepsy and was in an induced coma. About 6 weeks later he died in the York District Hospital, leaving his wife and young son.
With the help of Rachelle Mahapatra, head of the Clinical Negligence team at Irwin Mitchell Solicitors in Leeds, a claim was brought by AC's wife. The National Health Service Litigation Authority offered £362,500 for way of compensation, £18,000 of which was invested for their son for his care and the loss of his father.