Compensation claim for mother's death

A junior doctor diagnosed a bad headache

The husband of a woman who died after being wrongly diagnosed at a Merseyside hospital says financial compensation means "nothing" to him.

Mother-of-five Shirley Boylan was admitted to University Hospital Aintree in Liverpool after complaining of vomiting and a sharp pain in her head.

A junior doctor diagnosed a bad headache and sent the 43-year-old home - she collapsed four weeks later and died in December 1998.

The hospital has admitted liability for Mrs Boylan's death and agreed to pay an undisclosed sum of compensation, which could be as high as £500,000.

I have lost my wife of 24 years, my best friend and the mother to our five daughters

John Boylan

Mrs Boylan's husband, John, of Huyton, Merseyside, said: "I just hope this will make the hospital think twice before allowing a junior doctor to tell a woman with a brain haemorrhage that she has got a bad headache and to go home.

"My solicitor is applying for between £200,000 and £500,000 compensation but to be honest it means nothing to me.

"I have lost my wife of 24 years, my best friend and the mother to our five daughters.

'Deeply regret'

"She could be here today if they had spotted the problem when she first went to hospital"

In a statement, Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We deeply regret that the diagnosis of Mrs Boylan's condition was not correctly established when she attended the A&E department at University Hospital Aintree in November 1998.

"The trust has accepted liability in this case with the amount of damages still to be assessed.

"The trust would wish to reaffirm its sympathy to Mr Boylan and his family."