Coroner Identifies Care Failings

A medical negligence lawyer has called on healthcare authorities to ensure lessons are learnt from the tragic death of Clementine Nicholson.

Lisa Jordan commented after an inquest into the teenager’s death revealed there were seven failings in her care at Coventry University Hospital, including the decision to take her for an unnecessary CT scan and a failure to admit her to critical care as soon as possible.

The 17-year-old died from meningococcal septicaemia in May 2009 and her parents have since released a statement outlining that they have found the evidence in the inquest “truly shocking”. The coroner said it was not clear if the failures had led to the death.

Irwin Mitchell’s Lisa Jordan, who has much expertise in cases of clinical negligence, said: “This tragic case has highlighted a number of failings that health authorities must address.

“Patient safety must be a priority for everyone working in the NHS, but errors like this show there is still work to be done to address the issue.

“I hope that everything flagged up by his inquest will be taken on board, so that future patients do not suffer from problems like those seen in this case."