Nexnet

 

A Coroner has recorded a verdict of death by natural causes at the inquest of a young mum from Rotherham who died while holidaying with her five children.

 

Elizabeth “Lizzie” Nightingale, 25, from Dalton, died just weeks after receiving treatment at Rotherham General Hospital after suffering a miscarriage, an inquest heard on Friday (29 May). Delivering a narrative verdict, Coroner Miss Maureen Taylor said Ms Nightingale had died of natural causes following complications due to an undiagnosed ‘molar’ pregnancy.

 

The inquest in Spalding, Lincolnshire, heard how Ms Nightingale, 25, attended Rotherham General on 30 April last year, where she underwent an ultrasound examination which confirmed she had suffered a miscarriage.

 

Lisa Mann, a clinical negligence specialist with Raleys Solicitors, representing Ms Nightingale’s partner Wayne Manton, explained that she was admitted to the hospital on two further occasions throughout the following month after suffering bleeding and feeling unwell, and both times was discharged after doctors opted to “pursue a conservative course of treatment.”

 

“On Monday 26 May, while preparing to head home after enjoying a bank holiday break in Skegness with her partner and five children, Ms Nightingale collapsed and had to be admitted to Pilgrim Hospital, in Boston,” said Ms Mann. “She was bleeding and felt unwell, and underwent an emergency D&C (Dilatation and Curettage) procedure to remove retained products of conception from her womb.”

 

The inquest heard how while under a general anaesthetic for this procedure, Ms Nightingale suffered a heart attack, and subsequently suffered brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen. She never regained consciousness, and died in hospital a week later on 1 June.

 

Following the verdict, Ms Mann confirmed that she intended to investigate the circumstances further on behalf of her client Mr Manton, who has now given up work to care for the couple’s five children - aged seven, six, five, three and two years old.

 

“This has been a very difficult year for Mr Manton and the children, and we hoped the inquest would answer some difficult questions about what happened to Lizzie,” said Ms Mann. “The Coroner’s verdict was expected by us but we do feel there are still some questions yet to be answered, and Mr Manton is anxious that we pursue further investigations about the circumstances surrounding Lizzie’s death.”

 

Mr Manton vowed to fight for more answers into why Ms Nightingale died. “This tragedy has robbed my children of their mother, and has taken away my partner, and my best friend,” he said. “To me, the fact that this abnormal pregnancy went undiagnosed suggests that her death might have been avoidable.

 

“For my children, and for Lizzie, I want to hold to account those I believe are responsible, and ensure that no other family has to go through what we’ve been through these last few months.”