§ PUBLISHED JUDGMENT · 2019

Marshall v Schembri

[2019] EWHC 283 (QB)·High Court (Queen's Bench Division)·15 February 2019

A woman with a previous pulmonary embolism saw her GP with chest pain and breathlessness and was diagnosed with a strained muscle; she died the next morning. The GP admitted he should have referred her to hospital, and Stewart J found she would on the clear balance of probabilities have survived with anticoagulation and monitoring.

Outcome

Claimant succeeded

Sum stated in judgment

Not stated

Claim type

Fatal Medical Negligence

Decided

Liability decided at trial

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§ WHAT HAPPENED

The facts, in brief.

Defendant: Dr Mario Schembri (general practitioner)

Injury: Death from massive pulmonary embolism the morning after a GP consultation for chest pain and breathlessness

Specialty: General practice / respiratory · England

§ WHAT THE COURT SAID

In the judgment’s own words.

“For those reasons I find for the Claimant on the issue of causation.”

The money

Damages agreed between the parties subject to liability; sum not stated in the judgment.

§ WHY IT MATTERS

What this case shows.

Chest pain and breathlessness in someone with a past clot is a red flag needing same-day hospital referral. Where survival chances on admission would have been very high, the court will find the death was caused by the failure to refer.

About fatal medical negligence claims →

§ MORE FATAL MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE JUDGMENTS

Claim failed

Ritchie v The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust

[2026] EWCC 50·2026·Liability decided at trial

A widow brought a dependency and bereavement claim against the hospital after her husband died from an infection picked up during heart surgery. Because he had already settled his own claim in full against the equipment manufacturer while alive, the court held no Fatal Accidents Act claim survived for his dependants.

A dependant's claim under the Fatal Accidents Act only exists if the deceased could still have sued at the moment of death. Settling a claim in the patient's lifetime can extinguish the family's later dependency claim, so settlement terms need careful thought where death is foreseeable.

Claim failed

Runciman v University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust

[2024] EWHC 1800 (KB)·2024·Liability decided at trial

A widower claimed that doctors at Southampton General misdiagnosed his wife's rare cerebral venous thrombosis as a stroke, gave her clot-busting drugs and delayed the correct treatment, leading to her death. The judge found the clinicians acted reasonably on the presentation and that even earlier correct treatment would probably not have saved her.

A tragic outcome after a rare condition is missed does not by itself prove negligence; the question is whether a reasonable body of doctors would have acted the same way on the information available. Causation must be proved separately.

Claimant succeeded£1.2M

Healey v McGrath & Anor

[2024] EWHC 1360 (KB)·2024·Liability decided at trial

Mr Healey died nine days after bowel cancer surgery at a private hospital when a leak at the surgical join was not recognised in time. The hospital settled the widow's claim for £1.2 million and the court ordered the surgeon to bear 75% of it, finding his failure to diagnose the leak the principal cause of death.

Post-operative deterioration after bowel surgery must prompt urgent consideration of a leak. Both the private hospital and the individual surgeon can be liable, with the court apportioning responsibility between them.

All fatal medical 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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