An inquest has been opened in Nottingham Coroner’s Court into the death of four patients who underwent endoscopic procedures at Queen’s Medical Centre Hospital in Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. 

 

All four of the patients who have lost their lives had treatment carried out by Gastroenterologist Dr Rajaram in 2020, and the findings of the inquest are set to be released shortly. Below, our no win no fee medical negligence solicitors discuss the events, and how medical negligence can lead to wrongful deaths of patients. 

After undergoing a medical examination when a tube was put down her throat, Anita Burkey tragically suffered from a perforated oesophagus. 85 year old Mrs Burkey first went to hospital suffering from abdominal pain, and underwent an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) two weeks later as part of her treatment. 

 

The doctor who carried out the post-mortem examination of Anita Burkey found that she had a large amount of pus surrounding her oesophagus, and it was found that she had unfortunately died two weeks after the procedure after developing sepsis from the infection site. 

 

Sepsis is a life -threatening reaction to infection within the body, which is fatal if not recognised and treated quickly. To learn more about sepsis, and how to make a sepsis negligence claim for financial compensation, see our full page dedicated to sepsis negligence claims here. 

Mr Doleman was in Nottingham University Hospital’s Queen’s Medical Centre in March of 2019, where he was undergoing an ERCP for the removal of his gallstones, but when Dr Rajaram conducted the procedure he claimed that no gallstones could be located, and discharged Mr Doleman. 

 

However, 3 days after being discharged Mr Doleman returned to the hospital and was complaint of severe abdominal pain in the Accident and Emergency department. Only a few days after his return to hospital, Mr Doleman sadly passed away, and it was subsequently found that his organ wall had been perforated as a result of the ERCP procedure, which became infected, leading to the patient’s death. 

 

Mr Doleman suffered from a pre-existing condition known as ‘duodenal diverticula’, which made him a high-risk patient when undergoing the ERCP procedure, something which Dr Rajaram claimed to be unaware of, due to not seeing the results of the scans before carrying out the procedure. 

As well as Mr Doleman, Carol Cole went into Queen’s Medical Centre for an ERCP to remove gallstones in 2020, and sadly passed away as a result. As a part of the endoscopy carried out by Dr Rajaram, the overseeing consultant surgeon, Glen Irving, revealed that Dr Rajaram had interfered with the pancreatic duct during the procedure, which led to Mrs Cole developing pancreatitis and bowel infarction. 

Our medical negligence solicitors were saddened to read of these cases, and the loss of life involved. As with all medical procedures, including ERCP’s, need to be carried out with the upmost of care by doctors, and all possible measures and steps must be taken to ensure patient safety is maintained. 

 

This story is a shocking example of the importance of doctor care to patients, and what can go wrong when this duty of care is not met. If you or your loved one have experienced medical negligence in any way while in hospital, and have suffered from injury or illness as a result, you could be eligible to make a no win no fee medical negligence claim with our specialist solicitors. 

 

 

 

If you have suffered from injury or illness in any way due to medical negligence, then do not hesitate to get in touch with our no win no fee medical negligence solicitors online here for a free no obligation consultation with a no win no fee solicitor within one working hour. 

 

Our medical negligence solicitors accept all of our medical negligence claims on a no win no fee basis, allowing all of our clients to make a claim at no financial risk, and have a success rate of over 99% in all of the claims that we take on.