Shoebury grandma died as her doctor did not refer her to hospital

Doreen Marshall, of Shoebury, died from a pulmonary embolism on April 26 2014 after her doctor, Mario Schembri, believed she had a muscle strain.

Ms Marshall, 64, had gone to see Dr Schembri on April 25 at 3.45pm on an emergency appointment because she had developed chest pain and breathlessness and was worried that she might have had a recurrence of a clot on her lung, which had happened six years earlier.

Dr Schembri should have sent her to Southend Hospital but instead he advised her that she had probably strained a muscle and she should go home and rest.

She collapsed the following morning at home at around 8.30am. Despite efforts by paramedics they were unable to resuscitate her, and she was pronounced dead at the scene approximately one hour later.

Dr Schembri has since retired from practice.

Following Doreen’s death her family instructed specialist medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate.

A trial was held in February 2019 in which Dr Schembri admitted that he should have referred Doreen to hospital. However, he argued that treatment would not have saved her life.

The judge ruled that Doreen would have survived if she had been sent to hospital.

Dr Schembri appealed the judgment. The Court of Appeal has now dismissed his case.

Doreen’s husband Ian Marshall, 75, said: “Losing Doreen has been devastating for me and our family. She was a much-loved wife, mother and grandmother.

“We are a close family with lots of grandchildren who range from their teens to much younger. Doreen had recently retired, and she helped a lot with childcare.

“We had a good circle of friends both locally and further away. We took touring holidays to Scotland and Cornwall amongst other places, just enjoying the journey.

“What with that and all the family events and grandchildren, our lives were busy and happy.

“For nearly six years all of the family have had a number of questions as to what happened.

“Having to relive what happened in the lead up to Doreen’s death have been incredibly upsetting, however, it was vital that our family received the answers to our questions.

“The judgment confirms that if Dr Schembri had advised her to go to hospital that day, she could have been diagnosed and treated successfully.

“If that had happened, she would be alive today.”

Anne Kavanagh, medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, said: “The last few years have been incredibly difficult for all of Doreen’s family as they attempted to come to terms with her sudden death.

“Dr Schembri admitted that he should have referred Doreen to hospital but argued that even if she had attended, treatment would have made no difference and she would have died anyway.

“The trial judge noted in his judgment on 15 February 2019, that the overwhelming statistical evidence was that if Doreen had been sent to hospital on the afternoon of 25 April, she would have survived.

“Dr Schembri nevertheless filed an appeal against that judgment and the Court of Appeal has ruled that the original judgment was correct.

“It is important that all health professional learn lessons from this case so hopefully others do not have to suffer the heartache and pain that Doreen’s family have had to endure following her death.”