Elizabeth-Anne Gumbel QC obtained undisclosed damages for the husband, Jason, and daughter, Ava (now three), of Nadia Wearn who died just hours after leaving A&E where she was told that her crippling pain was caused by holding her baby daughter the wrong way. Ava was 13 weeks old when her mother died. The junior doctor prescribed painkillers, telling Nadia Wearn that she was suffering from a trapped nerve. When returning home, Mrs Wearn, a dance teacher, collapsed and died of a heart attack in front of her family.
Mrs Wearn had complained of breathlessness and pains across her chest, abdomen and left arm when she visited South Tyneside Hospital but the doctors had failed to perform tests such as an ECG and blood analysis. Dr Alan Rodgers, a medical director at the hospital, said that more tests should have been carried out given the symptoms that Mrs Wearn displayed. The Trust admitted liability and the damages will be paid into court and administered for Ava’s benefit.
Elizabeth-Anne Gumbel QC was instructed by Angela Curran of Burnetts, Newcastle.
