§ PUBLISHED JUDGMENT · 2004

Mellor v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust & Ors

[2004] EWHC 780 (QB)·High Court (Queen's Bench Division)·22 April 2004

Mrs Mellor had years of chest pain with strong cardiac risk factors; a hospital cardiologist wrongly described her exercise test as negative and discharged her, and she died of a cardiac arrest a year later. The judge found the discharge negligent but that the claimant could not prove she would have reached angiography and treatment in time, so the claim failed; the claims against the two GPs also failed.

Outcome

Claim failed

Sum stated in judgment

Not stated

Claim type

Cardiac Negligence

Decided

Liability decided at trial

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§ WHAT HAPPENED

The facts, in brief.

Defendant: Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and two general practitioners · this trust’s claims data

Injury: Death of a 43-year-old woman from cardiac arrest; post-mortem showed 95% narrowing of a coronary artery

Specialty: Cardiology / general practice · England

§ WHAT THE COURT SAID

In the judgment’s own words.

“That said, no causative link has been established between this breach of duty and Mrs. Mellor's death. The Claimant's claim therefore fails against the First Defendant.”
[2004] EWHC 780 (QB) at [275] · read the full judgment

The money

Claim failed against all defendants on causation; no damages awarded.

§ WHY IT MATTERS

What this case shows.

Proving a doctor was negligent is not enough: the claimant must also show that proper care would have changed the outcome. Where the deceased would only have had routine priority for investigation, a claim can fail on causation even with a clear breach.

About cardiac negligence claims →

§ MORE CARDIAC NEGLIGENCE JUDGMENTS

Claimant succeeded

Dakin v South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

[2026] EWCC 26·2026·Liability decided at trial

A theatre nurse with worsening palpitations saw a hospital physician who admittedly failed to arrange 24-hour ECG monitoring. The judge found monitoring would have caught her atrial fibrillation in time for anticoagulants to prevent the stroke she suffered.

Palpitations that keep coming back need proper heart-rhythm monitoring. Where a missed test would have led to blood-thinning treatment, a later stroke can be laid at the hospital's door.

Claimant succeeded

HQA v Newcastle-upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

[2025] EWHC 2121 (KB)·2025·Liability decided at trial

A 25-year-old with congenital heart disease suffered a severe brain injury when her aorta was cut during a high-risk repeat sternotomy and it took around 24 minutes to get her onto full bypass. The judge found the surgeon should have exposed the femoral vessels in advance (saving around 13 minutes) and that consent was deficient; she would still have gone ahead with the operation, but with that precaution taken.

Surgeons planning a known high-risk operation must take reasonable precautions beforehand and tell the patient about them; a court can find negligence in planning and consent even where the intra-operative error itself was not negligent.

Claim failed

Negus & Anor v Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

[2021] EWHC 643 (QB)·2021·Liability decided at trial

The executors of Mrs Neill argued her surgeon should have enlarged the aortic root to fit a larger valve rather than implant a 19mm mechanical valve, and failed to warn her about that option. Eady J found the valve choice was not negligent and, although the possibility of root enlargement should have been mentioned, it would have made no difference to her decision.

A consent failure only leads to compensation if the patient would have made a different choice with proper information. Surgical decisions supported by a responsible body of opinion are not negligent just because another surgeon would have done differently.

All cardiac negligence judgments →

Contains information licensed under the Open Justice - Licence v2.0. Judgments from Find Case Law, The National Archives. Summaries are ours; amounts only where printed in the judgment.

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