James Burgess Inquest
18/11/2004
May I thank you for the way my accident claim has been handled, after my accident my confidence was very low indeed but the sympathetic handling of my case restored my confidence.
John, Sheffield
The Inquest into the death of sixteen-year-old James Burgess from Leicester concluded today with the Coroner delivering a verdict of 'natural causes'.
James collapsed and died suddenly at home in the summer of last year. Since his death his family have battled to find the truth about how James died rejecting the opinion of pathologist Dr al-Alousi who believed James' death was linked to cannabis. The family's fight has been vindicated.
The Coroner today concluded that James died of a heart condition.
Following the inquest held today in Leicester, the family of James Burgess released the following statement through their Lawyer Richard Follis of Alexander Harris Solicitors:
"It is extremely difficult to talk about losing your sixteen year old son, especially as he was always so fit and healthy.
James was intelligent, quick witted, a perfectionist, sarcastic, loyal, stubborn - always liked the last word in an argument, loved his job, hated cleaning his Dad's car and we miss him.
On the 29th July 2003, the night he died, he came home at 10pm. There was nothing unusual in his manner, at 10.10pm he was dead. He was found to have cannabis in his possession. In our opinion the Pathologist Dr al-Alousi made an unwarranted assumption that the cannabis had ultimately caused his death. An opinion our family made clear to the Police and the Coroner from the beginning.
James had been working full time for the past eleven months doing a Plumbing & Heating Apprenticeship with a local firm, he often worked overtime in the evening and weekends. He was the youngest of his group of friends and he didn't usually go to pubs or clubs with them because he had a young face and would have been embarrassed if he had been rebuffed.
We had to wait ten agonising weeks before a cause of death was established and we were eventually told it was to do with cannabis having an effect on his heart.
We were uneasy about this as his death was so sudden and we could find no case on the Internet of this happening anywhere in someone so young.
We struggled desperately to find help with our anxieties and how to initiate a 2nd post mortem, or a 'nominated pathologist', we asked our MP, he said ask your GP, he said you need a lawyer it went on, no-one seemed to know the correct procedure but even though we felt we were going round in circles we trusted our instincts.
We found the website for CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) which stated that every week 4-8 apparently fit and healthy young adults die suddenly and this seemed closer to circumstances of James's death. We spoke to founder Alison Cox who has since been an invaluable source of help and support; she recommended using their Pathologist for a 2nd opinion. This 2nd opinion stated that James had a heart condition that caused sudden death.
The funeral of James eventually took place in December, five months after his death.
The Coroner then asked for a 3rd opinion from another Pathologist whose opinion was the cause of death was a heart problem leading to sudden death. He made severe criticisms of the initial post-mortem carried out, namely " I am concerned that three of the four sections of presumed left ventricular muscle were taken after the body and heart had been deep frozen." He also said the first pathologist's stated cause of death "promotes an mechanism that is at best speculative".
It is an unbearable thought to think about James being left all alone in a mortuary, his body frozen for that length of time, the thought that further samples then had to be taken is abhorrent.
After waiting eight months we were called to the Coroners Office, and told that Dr al-Alousi, the initial pathologist was prepared to rephrase his original opinion and we could have a documented inquest. We were puzzled as the Coroner had stressed from the outset it would have to be a public inquest.
My husband and I have both been tested at The Heart Hospital in London and although we both have abnormalities in our hearts, mine shows particular characteristics of the condition our son probably died from.
We find it incomprehensible that as a grieving family we continually had to ring the Police or the Coroners Office to try and obtain information relating to James death. We know certain procedures have to be followed but the family should be the main concern, we are the ones sitting and waiting for answers.
Detective Chief Superintendent Alistair Helm has responded for the Police by visiting us at home several times and listening to our concerns, he has given us feedback and set in motion how certain procedures can be improved in the future."
Their Solicitor Richard Follis of Alexander Harris added:- "Losing a child is the most difficult thing for any parent. To then undergo such an agonising wait and having to search for information, fighting against the systems that were supposed to be of help to the family is unacceptable."
"Without the family fighting so hard to find out James' cause of death, the truth would not have been known and the initial post mortem results would have stood unchallenged. This raises serious concerns and I question how many other families may have had similar experiences but have understandably not had the will to challenge and fight on at such a traumatic time. I seriously believe that steps should be taken to prevent other families having to go through what the Burgess's faced. In this case the pathologist seems to have been preoccupied with the possible effects of cannabis and so missed the real likely cause of death."
EDITORIAL NOTES:
The family do not wish to add anything further to their commentary and no photographs are available. All requests for further information should be made to the media department at Alexander Harris Solicitors on 08700 778877.
CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) can be contacted on 01737 363 222 and their website can be viewed on www.c-r-y.org.uk.
Alexander Harris are a leading national law firm specialising in health matters. They have offices in the West Midlands, central London and North West.
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