Family speak of grief after death at Treliske

A Redruth family have spoken of their grief after the death of a husband, father and grandfather at the Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske. The family, who wish to remain anonymous, say they hope that lessons have been learned so that others do not have to suffer as they have.

The 75-year-old left behind a wife, three grown up children and five grandchildren. Had he lived, he would also have known his two great grandchildren.

The death, in November 2010, was the result of an arterial haemorrhage following a liver biopsy at the Royal Cornwall Hospital. It was alleged that staff failed to immediately diagnose internal bleeding after a doctor’s three attempts to carry out the biopsy. It was alleged that he was then left waiting for two hours and 45 minutes before hospital staff carried out an embolization, which failed. The patient died two days after the biopsy.

The patient was at risk of internal bleeding because of platelet dysfunction. The family believes this means he should not have been given the biopsy in the first place.

The son of the deceased said: “Dad just went in for routine tests but after the problems with the biopsy things went rapidly downhill.

“He was getting older, but he was still active and enjoyed gardening and DIY. He should still be here. I still think about it every day.

“Yes, mistakes are made but if there is a problem it should be sorted out straight away. We are of the view that there was clearly a lack of communication and a lack of organisation between the staff. We hope lessons have been learned at Treliske. We don’t want others to go through what we’ve been through.”

After another law firm failed to settle their case, the family sought the help of the Clinical Negligence team at Coodes Solicitors. Partner Tim Goldburn supported them with their claim and eventually the case against Royal Cornwall Hospital NHS Trust was settled in July 2015.

The son continued: “Coodes were absolutely fantastic. Tim fought and fought for us. It was never about the money and we know nothing will bring back Dad, but their support has really helped. It is a matter of principle and it feels like justice has been done.”

Rachel Pearce, Partner in the Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury Department at Coodes Solicitors said: “After the trauma and sadness of losing a much loved husband, father and grandfather the family had a long and stressful wait for their case to be settled. After their first solicitors told the family they had no case, they came to us as a last resort. Although nothing can bring back their loved one, we were pleased to be able to finally bring it to a conclusion and get some justice for the family.”