Coroner's rare finding of a hospital's neglect
May 2011 - At the Inquest into the death of Allan Burnett at Southwark Coroner's Court in May 2011, the Coroner recorded that the death of the Deceased was contributed to by the neglect of the hospital charged with his care. David Juckes acted for the Deceased's family at the Inquest.
The Deceased was admitted to King's College Hospital, London on 4 July 2009, and was found dead at around 6:45 the next morning having suffered pulmonary oedema and neuro-muscular respiratory failure.
During the time for which the Claimant was in the care of King's, it was established that he was never clerked by a doctor. Observation charts revealed that only three sets of observations had been carried out by nursing staff, including an observation timed at 06:50 on the morning of 5 July, i.e. after he had been found dead.
HM Coroner for South London Dr Andrew Harris, held that the failures of King's to have the Deceased clerked by a doctor within twelve hours of his admission, and to record four-hourly observations, amounted to gross failures to provide basic care. He found the failures of the Trust contributed to the Deceased's death and a rider of neglect was appropriate.
To find out about David's availability, please contact his clerking team by email or telephone: +44 (0)20 7643 5000.
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