Failure to diagnose subarachnoid haemorrhage leads to death of young father of 2
Malcom had been suffering from severe headaches and nausea for several days. He went to the GP and was given painkillers which did not help. The following night, the pain was so bad, Malcom felt as if he had been hit over the head with a hammer. He attended A & E where he was examined, diagnosed with an ear infection and sent home the same night without a CT scan being performed.
Over the following days, Malcom continued to suffer from headaches and vomiting and he eventually collapsed at home. He was taken to hospital by ambulance. A CT scan was eventually performed which revealed that Malcom had suffered a sub-arachnoid haemorrhage. Sadly, the damage was so bad that it was too late to operate and Malcom died 2 days later.
The evidence was that Malcom had suffered one, possibly two, small haemorrhages around the initial attendance at the surgery and a third massive (and fatal) bleed when he collapsed.
It was admitted by the Trust that Malcom’s sub-arachnoid haemorrhage should have been picked up when Malcom first attended hospital. If it had, he would have been operated on and it is likely that he would not have died.
With the help of Auriana Griffiths and Karen Jarman, a settlement of £300,000 was recovered on behalf of Malcom’s partner and their 2 young children.
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