Wolverhampton Wife Died After ‘Gross Failure In Basic Medical Care’

The family of a Wolverhampton woman who died when doctors missed an opportunity to diagnose a blood clot have received an apology from health bosses three years after her ‘avoidable’ death.

Mother-of-two Marie Rollason attended A&E at New Cross Hospital on 19 December, 2015, after suffering a head injury in a fall at home. She was discharged but then went on to suffer episodes of fainting and a loss of consciousness across the next four days.

After collapsing in her GP surgery on 23 December the 43-year-old was taken to A&E at New Cross for a second time. She was wrongly discharged after a junior doctor concluded that the results of an EGC were ‘okay’. The junior doctor decided, in consultation with a consultant doctor, that she was fit to go home. An internal hospital investigation found that she should have remained in hospital and the cause of her collapses assessed by a cardiologist and she would probably have survived.

Sadly, this did not happen and Marie collapsed and died of a pulmonary embolism six days later.

Following her death, Marie’s husband Lee, 45, instructed specialist medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate her care.

A subsequent inquest concluded that neglect had played a role in Marie’s death, with the coroner outlining that the lack of tests to detect the blood clot and the failure to admit her to hospital amounted to ”a gross failure in basic medical care”.

Lee and his legal team are now speaking out on World Thrombosis Day to urge Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust learns lessons. It comes after the legal experts at Irwin Mitchell helped Lee secure a settlement and an apology from the Trust regarding the failings which led to her death.

David Loughton CBE, chief executive of The Trust, has written to Lee offering his own and the Trust’s “condolences and apologies”, saying that action had been taken to “prevent the same circumstances arising which sadly led to the avoidable death” of Marie.

He added: “Your wife failed to receive the standard of care that she was entitled to expect and in consequence we have also let down yourself and your family.” 

Expert Opinion

“This is a truly devastating case which highlights the huge consequences that even the most basic failings in care can have.

“While nothing will ever change what has happened, we are pleased to have at least helped our clients to gain justice regarding their loss and the unacceptable errors which led to it.

“This case must be a reminder to the NHS of the need for test results to always be thoroughly examined and reported correctly – the issues seen here simply should not be allowed to happen again.” Tom Riis-Bristow - Senior Associate Solicitor

Find out more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in handling medical negligence cases 

The settlement will help secure the futures of Marie and Lee’s two children, Lewis and Owen, aged 19 and 14.

Lee recalled how the family had hoped that Marie was on the road to recovery following her second visit to hospital.

He said: “When Marie and I heard that her ECG test had come back normal we were hugely relieved and went on to enjoy a really wonderful Christmas. She seemed to be fainting less during that time and we genuinely hoped she had turned a corner.

“Three years on we remain totally devastated at losing Marie and the fact that it could have been avoided remains very difficult to take. While it is welcome that the NHS Trust has apologised, it is simply never going to change what has happened.

“No amount of money will ever make up for what has happened and our primary aim of taking this forward was to ensure that lessons could be learned so no other family faces what we have.

“Marie was my soulmate and I miss her so much – these problems cannot be repeated in the future.”

A thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel which obstructs the flow of blood. World Thrombosis Day is October 13 and aims to increase global awareness of the condition, including causes, risk factors and symptoms as well as improve prevention and treatment.