Mayo Wynne Baxter clinical negligence solicitor Robert Bell represented the parents of Joesph Seerveraj at the recent inquest into the circumstances of their three year old son’s tragic death.

Joesph died on Monday 21 January 2008 from septicaemia arising as an exceptionally rare complication of tonsillitis, which had been diagnosed 2 days earlier when Joseph saw an out of hours GP who prescribed antibiotics to treat the condition.

During the course of the Sunday 20 January Joesph’s condition steadily deteriorated and, in addition to being generally unwell, he developed new symptoms of regular diarrhoea and vomiting. His parents became more and more anxious and they made a further call to the out of hours GP service shortly after 11pm by which time they were acutely concerned that Joseph was going downhill fast, that he had vomited his medication and that he was becoming dehydrated – they told the doctor they spoke to they thought Joseph should be on a drip. Mr Seerveraj was reassured by the Doctor he spoke with and advised to wait for Joesph’s medication to begin to work and that he did not need to be brought into hospital.

With reference to this doctor’s failure to arrange for Joseph to be clinically assessed the Brighton and Hove Coroner stated “Joseph did not get the basic attention he required. The failure to provide this basic attention was gross. It was total and complete.”

Mrs Hamilton-Deeley criticised the doctor for failing to properly consider all of the information available from the previous contacts with the service and, in particular, for ignoring information obtained by non-medical personnel. She also criticised his failure to take proper notes of his own telephone consultation and for ignoring the “three-strike rule”, which dictates that any patient contacting the service three times in relation to the same illness should be assessed automatically. South East Health, the organisation responsible for the out of hours service, had issued clear guidance with regard to the importance of the “three-strike rule” only weeks earlier.

The Inquest heard from Dr Gale Pearson, a paediatric intensive care expert, that if Joesph been taken into hospital he would not have died.

When returning her verdict the Coroner stated that Joesph’s death was the result of “a natural cause in circumstances to which neglect contributed”. The verdict of neglect has very specific and important implications and is only returned in exceptional cases, and extremely rarely in case involving the provision or lack of provision of medical care.

Commenting after the inquest, Robert Bell said: “This case raises very important issues relating to standard of care provided in the out of hours context. It also reinforces important basic principles of taking and recording a thorough history and giving proper consideration to all available relevant information whatever its source. This case is a tragic reminder that failure to adhere to these basic principles can have devastating consequences".

Robert Bell can be contacted on 01273 775533 or by email at rbell@mayowynnebaxter.co.uk