Rainham family awarded damages of nearly £400,000 after dad Paul Hayes's asthma death
00:01, 27 January 2015
A woman is set to receive nearly £400,000 in damages after a judge ruled the father of her three sons died because he didn’t receive the right treatment for an asthma attack.
Paul Hayes, of Elmstone Road, Rainham, had just had a round of golf with his brother and returned home for a shower when he suffered a severe attack.
At London’s High Court, it was heard that he managed to call for help, but he died while being treated by ambulance technicians from SECAmb NHS Foundation Trust.
Michelle Hayes, a trained nurse, sued the trust for compensation for her and their three teenage sons, claiming negligent treatment cost Mr Hayes his life.
The 41-year-old had been married to Mrs Hayes for five years. The pair divorced in 2004, but rekindled their relationship two years later.
In court Mrs Hayes said that although they were “taking things slowly” they had discussed their future and intended to remarry.
A clerk at a barristers’ chambers in London, Mr Hayes had remained committed to his sons during their separation, regularly taking them to and from football training, matches and on holidays.
When paramedics found him struggling to breathe at his home on December 28, 2008, following the asthma attack, they administered salbutomol and oxygen, but failed to deliver another drug, as well as adrenaline.
As they went to move him downstairs Mr Hayes stopped breathing and suffered a fit, the court heard.
He then had a heart attack, and despite the crew’s attempts to resuscitate him, he died shortly after.
Lawyers for Mrs Hayes claimed that, had her ex-husband’s condition been properly assessed, he would have been treated with the alternative drugs.
Mr Hayes had suffered with brittle asthma – a serious condition involving severe attacks – from the age of about 21, following a car accident. He had been admitted to hospital a number of times and once Mrs Hayes had to give him CPR until an ambulance arrived.
The trust denied liability, arguing that there was nothing staff could have done differently that would have saved Mr Hayes.
But Judge Rosalind Coe QC ruled that Mr Hayes’ death could have been prevented if he had received the right treatment.
She added that it was “significantly more likely than not that the parties would reconcile” and suggested an award of damages to Mrs Hayes and her sons of more than £380,000.
A final figure is, however, yet to be agreed upon.
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