The High Court has refused an NHS trust’s application to withdraw an admission of liability over the death of a patient. North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust had tried to argue that its admission, which was made before the inquest, was no longer valid because of new evidence that had come to light.

But Master Sullivan ruled the defendant should be held to its admission, concluding that whatever factors were in favour of allowing it to be withdrawn were outweighed by the interests of the administration of justice.

The court heard that community paediatrician Dr Oluyinka O Somoye died in 2018, a few days after being discharged from hospital following surgery.

An expert instructed by the coroner to advise the inquest found that on balance the cause of death could have been avoided, and the defendant made a full admission of liability three months before the inquest in 2021.

In the months which followed, discussions continued between the expert witness and the director who had undertaken the post mortem examination.

The defendant notified the claimant in March 2022 that it was reconsidering causation and requested further disclosure on quantum, before making the withdrawal application four months later.

The trust submitted that the expert had ‘completely changed his mind’ whilst giving evidence, and as a result, it had sought further independent evidence which took several months.

It argued that the admission had been made ‘to avoid the need for the claimant to endure the rigors of a full oral inquest’.

But the claimant submitted that the trust had ample opportunity to investigate the claim prior to making admissions, and had been advised by specialist solicitors. The motivation for the admission, it was argued, was partly to restrict the costs the claimant could recover for the inquest process.

Master Sullivan said there was personal prejudice to the claimant from approving the application, and allowing the withdrawal would cause ‘significant distress’. She added that the defendant was still able to challenge the extent of the losses, even if they could not dispute liability.

Following the judgment, Paul McNeil, head of personal injury and medical negligence with national firm Fieldfisher who represented the claimant, said the decision came as a ‘huge relief’ to Somoye’s family.

He added: ‘It was wrong for the North West Anglia NHS trust to admit liability just before the inquest to save costs, and then later withdraw it. If this cynical practice became commonplace, many families would be seriously disadvantaged at inquest hearings, because they would accept the admission and not be legally represented.'

 

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