David, 51 years old, Manchester

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JMW has helped a family claim £370,000 in compensation, after a 51-year-old man died following the misdiagnosis of severe sepsis.

David was 51 years old when he became poorly with diarrhoea and vomiting on the 19 January 2015. He felt shivery, was not able to keep down food or fluids, and had severe pain in his abdomen.

At around 6.30pm on the 20 January 2015, David went to the Emergency Department at Manchester Royal Infirmary. He was seen shortly after 7pm, and then by a Doctor at 8.30pm. The blood tests that were taken at the time showed findings associated with severe sepsis.

Findings associated with severe sepsis

He was referred to the Resident Medical Officer covering the Emergency Department at 10pm, who advised that intravenous antibiotics were not required, even though they had been recommended by the doctor that David had previously seen in the Emergency Department.

David was admitted to hospital, and his treatment was taken over by the on-call medical team. His wife, who had accompanied him to hospital, went home to look after their children.

Cardiac arrest

At around 12:50am, David complained of very severe left-sided abdominal pain. He was referred for a review by one of the surgeons, who he saw later that morning.

By 6:30am David was complaining of breathlessness. His condition deteriorated, and he had a cardiac arrest. Attempts were made to resuscitate him, which sadly failed.

David left a widow, and two children who were aged 11 and 8 at the time of his death.

The claim

David’s wife spoke to the experts at JMW to start legal action, as she was concerned that there was a failure on the part of the hospital to diagnose David’s severe sepsis, act on the laboratory investigations, and give him appropriate intravenous antibiotics and to monitor his condition.

The hospital trust admitted that it was negligent in failing to diagnose David’s severe sepsis, and also that they were negligent in not administering in the morning of 21st January 2015.

The trust also accepted that, had David been diagnosed and been given appropriate antibiotics, he would have survived.

The award of compensation of £370,000 was reached following negotiation with the Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.