'Nobody is to blame'

Published on 12th October 2006 in News

The parents of Joshua Murdock have expressed their relief this week at the news that nobody is to blame for their son's tragic death earlier this year.

Sixteen-year-old Joshua, who would have turned 17 on October 31 this year, died one evening in March after his moped crashed into a broken-down animal transporter while he was riding home to Rawcliffe after visiting his girlfriend Laura in Snaith.

An inquest into Josh's death held on July 18 heard that he had sustained a number of serious injuries including a fractured skull, torn aorta, broken wrists and broken legs as a result of the crash and had died shortly after he was transferred from Doncaster Hospital to Sheffield's Northern General Hospital in the early hours of March 10.

However, the inquest was adjourned until last Friday, October 6, when the medical details and procedures once Josh was admitted to Doncaster Hospital could be heard in order to determine why he died shortly after his arrival in Sheffield.

Hull Coroners' Court heard how Josh was still fully conscious when paramedics arrived at the scene on the A614 shortly after 8.30pm on March 9, although he began coughing up blood as officials at the scene prepared to take him to hospital.

Ambulance technician Marina Helena Schager told the court that she and her colleague Adrian Smith were concerned about Joshua so they called ahead to Doncaster Hospital and requested a room there, as it was the nearest accident and emergency receiving hospital.

Josh's dad John told the inquest that on arrival at Doncaster Hospital shortly after 9.30pm, Josh was "very with-it" and was laughing and joking with staff about football.

Mr Murdock said that there seemed to be no decline in Josh's condition in the hour before his CT scan, which found that he had a number of problems including a damaged aorta and a fractured skull.

Once the scan disclosed the damage to his aorta, doctors decided that he should be transferred to a hospital in Sheffield for treatment because Doncaster Hospital did not have the expertise to deal with the injury.

There were concerns raised about the length of time it took to assess Josh and make the decision to transfer him to the Northern General Hospital. Josh arrived in the CT unit at midnight for a scan, a procedure that takes around 15 minutes to scan two areas, and the ambulance were called out nearly two hours later, at 2am, to transfer Josh to the Northern General. However, the court heard that there was a delay as staff at the Northern General Hospital could not confirm that they could take Josh until after 1am.

Gowrie Shankar Subash, a doctor at Doncaster Hospital, told the court that he travelled to Sheffield in the ambulance with Josh, where he was to be cared for until the major injury to his aorta could be treated early the following morning.

Dr Subash said: "There was a sudden deterioration in Josh's condition when we were 10 minutes away from the Northern General in the ambulance, and he lost consciousness, which he did not regain again. It was a short, sharp downfall."

Dr Norman Briffa, consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield, told the court that Josh's damaged aorta was to be operated on the following morning, as there was "much to gain by carrying out the procedure in daylight as soon as possible." However, Josh passed away shortly after his arrival at the Northern General shortly after 2.30am.

Dr Briffa added that most people with similar injuries died at the scene of the accident. He said: "If there had been a complete tear of the aorta, then the patient would have died within two heartbeats. There comes a time when the body just gives up."

Offering an independent view of the case, Dr Tim Jackson from Hull Royal Infirmary told the court: "Josh's injuries were extremely significant and his chances of survival were negligible. Some things could have been speeded up but the outcome would not have changed. Josh could have died at the scene due to the seriousness of his injuries."

Coroner Geoffrey Saul recorded that Joshua Murdock died from complications associated with his multiple injuries shortly after his transfer to the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield.

* Speaking following the final part of the inquest into his death, Josh's parents, John and Sally Murdock, told of their relief at the news that nobody was to blame for their son's death.

Mrs Murdock told the Goole Times this week: "Dr Jackson said that the care in Doncaster was sub-optimal but that delays did not make a difference to the outcome, and nobody expected to hear that. Nobody realised how critically ill Josh was, and it was a matter of finding out what he actually died from."

John Murdock added: "We are just relieved that nobody is to blame for this. The last thing we would have wanted was for the hospital to be to blamed for Josh's death because a case of medical negligence would have gone on for years, and we would have known that things could have turned out differently."

Mr Murdock added: "We would like to thank everybody for all the help and support they have offered us."