Fens widow receives £100,000 in out of court settlement after errors by doctors and paramedics

Six figure negligence settlement highlights urgent need for A&E reform .Ian Jardine. (Image: Archant)

Sharon Jardine, 49, has been involved in a four year legal battle to establish the truth behind the death of her husband Ian, who died from a coronary thrombus.

Earlier this year, solicitors acting for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kings Lynn NHS Foundation Trust and the East Midlands Ambulance Services NHS Trust admitted that had Mr Jardine been treated correctly he would have survived.

Fletchers Solicitors, who acted for Mrs Jardine, say that despite complaining of severe chest pains for a number of days, Ian Jardine was repeatedly and mistakenly diagnosed with muscle strain. After a second visit by an ambulance crew in a matter of days, Ian died at his Wisbech home on June 20 2009.

Jeanette Aspinall, head of medical negligence at Fletchers Solicitors, said: 'A number of opportunities were missed for Mr Jardine to be correctly diagnosed, but not a single medical professional he met was able to correctly identify his life threatening condition.

'Given the facts of the case it should have been clear, even to a lay person, that something was seriously wrong. As a result the emergency services later admitted negligence.'

Last night Mrs Jardine said: 'I want others to be aware that mistakes happen and they can cost lives. This has been a devastating experience for me and my family.'

On June 12 2009, Mr Jardine was taken ill at work, feeling a crushing type of pain in his chest, together with some shortness of breath and a feeling of being unwell. He was taken to the accident and emergency department of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital by ambulance, and after tests was told that the pain was musculoskeletal.

He was also advised to take analgesic and medication for indigestion. It was decided that Mr Jardine's GP should follow up and consider the chest pain clinic if symptoms persisted.

Mr Jardine's chest pain continued and he remained poorly. He continued to have pain and discomfort in his chest, he suffered some shortness of breath, his pallor was grey and he looked generally unwell.

On June 15, Mr Jardine saw his GP, and was prescribed medication for indigestion and painkillers.

His symptoms continued and his general health deteriorated, and on June 19 Mr Jardine returned to his GP. He was assured he was suffering from muscle pain and was given a prescription of co-codamol.

On his return home, Mr Jardine felt worse, and an ambulance was called. Paramedics offered to take him to hospital but he decided against it. He died that night.

A case was brought against Mr Jardine's GP, but no case for negligence has been proven and no admission of negligence given.

Fletchers Solicitors say the case highlights the urgent need for reform in emergency health services, as highlighted by Sir Bruce Keogh, national medical director of NHS England earlier this month.

Jeanette Aspinall of Fletchers said: 'Under the proposed 'two-tier' system, Mr Jardine would have been taken directly to a specialist centre where a competent professional would have been able to correctly diagnose his condition and potentially save his life.

'In his review, Bruce Keogh has rightly identified the importance of fast tracking such cases to the people best equipped to make an informed choice, rather than assuming all front line professionals have the ability to make the right judgement call in all circumstances.'

A spokesman for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital at King's Lynn said: 'We wish to apologise to Mrs Jardine and her family and to express our deep regret for the shortcomings in her husband's care.'

Representing the East Midlands Ambulance Service, a spokesman said: 'We accept that Mr Jardine's medical condition was not diagnosed properly and, therefore, accepted liability for our part in that. We would like to offer our sincere apologies to his family and friends for their very sad loss.'