THE family of a baby who suffered a “preventable” death at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd has succeeded in a claim of clinical negligence against Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB).
Lucas Thomas Munslow, from Flint, was nine months old when he died of acute bacterial meningitis at the Bodelwyddan hospital on May 18, 2019.
Less than 24 hours earlier, his parents had been told by staff at the hospital that he had viral tonsillitis but was safe to return home.
After an inquest into his death in November, coroner John Gittins found staff exhibited “poor practice”, and that it is “probable” that Lucas’ death could have been prevented.
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Lucas’ family, assisted by Rhyl-based firm Gamlins Law, agreed a five-figure out-of-court settlement with BCUHB on Tuesday (March 12).
His father, Nathan, accepted the offer as he wanted the matter to be “over and done with”, but called the undisclosed fee an “insult”.
He said: “It’s an insult on a baby’s life. His life was worth a lot more than that. The people responsible are still working. It’s not nice.
“We didn’t want to go backwards and forwards. We’ve been on this for five years now, and it would have just been even more time-consuming. We just wanted closure.
“We’ve got three kids, so need to make sure they’re OK and have our full attention. We’ve got to concentrate on what we’ve got here now.
“I don’t want anyone else going through what happened to us.”
Simon Roberts, head of personal injury and clinical negligence at Gamlins Law, represented the Munslow family at November’s inquest.
He added: “They hope that, by raising the case of Lucas in the way that they have, they can help to prevent similar tragedies occurring in the future.”
A statement made on behalf of Lucas’ family following the inquest read: “We lost Lucas, our first-born baby boy, in circumstances that could have been avoided.
“We have been left deeply traumatised by the death of Lucas and continue to suffer as we try to come to terms with our loss. We hope that this finding leads to key learnings at the trust.”
Dr James Risley, deputy executive medical director for BCUHB, said: “The health board has unreservedly accepted the coroner’s findings, identified where we must improve, and will continue to learn whilst addressing the concerns raised by the coroner.
“A settlement has been agreed upon with the family and, on behalf of the BCUHB, we are profoundly sorry and offer our deepest sympathies to Lucas’ family.”
BCUHB’s executive medical director, Dr Nick Lyons, said after the inquest: “Firstly, I would like to offer my sincere and heartfelt condolences to Lucas’ parents and wider family, on behalf of the health board.
“We accept the coroner’s findings unreservedly and have already reviewed the circumstances surrounding Lucas’s treatment and identified where we can improve our diagnostic procedures in extremely rare cases such as this.
“However, we will look closely at the coroner’s comments from his finding of fact, to see if there are additional areas of learning which will help patients in the future.”
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