Medical Negligence Played a Part in the Death of Woman Due to DVT

An inquest into the death of a mother, who died due to deep vein thrombosis (DVT) 10 days after her condition was misdiagnosed by a GP, ruled that the death occurred due to medical negligence. Jacqueline Allwood, 47, had consulted Dr Saurabh Adlakha in January last year and despite stating that her family had a history of DVT, she was assured that her limp was caused by a calf strain and was recommended ibuprofen, rest and was asked to use ice, stretch and wear comfortable shoes. She died 10 days later after the clot in her leg traveled to her lung. The coroner, Dr Andrew Harris said that while Ms Allwood died due to natural causes, medical negligence did play a part in her death.

While Dr Adlakha denied that he had rushed his examination of Ms Allwood and said that he did not remember whether he had asked her about any family history of DVT, Ms Allwood’s daughter Tanya Allwood said that her mother had made a point of mentioning it to the doctor.

“The doctor asked her to roll up her other trouser leg and said we can rule out a DVT, as the leg would have to be severely swollen to indicate that. We both said we were relieved it wasn’t DVT because it runs in our family, and the doctor said it was simply a sprain”, she said, adding that while they do not demand Dr Adlakha to be punished, they hoped that he will learn from his mistakes.



Source-Medindia