An inquest into the death of 20-year-old John Moore-Robinson found that he could easily have been saved. Mr Moore-Robinson died in his home in 2006 after he was discharged from hospital with an undiagnosed ruptured spleen.  Despite his obvious symptoms, the doctor diagnosed him as having bruised ribs following an x-ray.  He collapsed only hours after being discharged and later died at home.

The incident happened following a mountain bike accident on Cannock Chase, in Staffordshire.  Mr Moore-Robinson was taken immediately to A&E at the scandal-hit hospital, Stafford Hospital, where it was later found to have contributed to his death through six separate shortcomings.

“We can never forgive them”

Coroner Catherine Mason said that the 20-year-old’s life could easily have been saved.  She mentioned that an ambulance paramedic had contacted the hospital with suspicion that his condition was potentially life threatening.  However, hospital staff dismissed this information. Mrs Manson said that poor communication, poor documentation, insufficient investigation and inadequate assessment all led to his death.

She added that on the “balance of probabilities the loss of his life could have been prevented”.

The hearing was the second inquest into Mr Moore-Robinson’s death after the High Court reassessed the original ruling following a campaign by his family.

John’s father, Frank, said: “Many, many people have lost their lives, including our son John, and that we can never forgive them for.”

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