Family of 'wonderful' Leeds man who died after fall in St James's Hospital seeking compensation from NHS Trust

Brian Jackson, who was 86, suffered a brain injury from a fall at St James’s Hospital after he was admitted with breathing difficulties in March 2022. On the night of March 9 and 10 last year, the hospital considered him to be at risk of falling from his hospital bed, so bed rails were put in position. He was also given “advanced nurse supervision”, but it was found this was not in place at around 2.30am when he suffered the fall.

Mr Jackson suffered a severe brain injury that progressively worsened. He became completely paralysed in one side of his body before his death on the morning of Saturday, May 7, 2022.

At a recent inquest the cause of death was recorded as a subarachnoid haemorrhage.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has apologised for Mr Jackson’s care not being “to the standard that he should have received” and said that they are working with his family to bring their claim to a conclusion “as soon as possible”.

Brian lived for much of his life in the Horsforth area of Leeds and worked for decades as a draughtsman at AE Turbines in Yeadon where he designed turbine blades for Rolls Royce engines. He married Shirley Jackson four days after his 21st birthday after the two met at a dance in Leeds. They had two children – Beverley and Martyn – and stayed together until his death.

His daughter, Beverley Merry said: “He was a kind and generous man who would do anything for anybody and who was always thinking of others before himself.”

Brian and his wife were big Leeds Rhinos and would regularly go to watch the games at Headingley together before taking their children in later years. He also enjoyed golf, fishing and going on family trips to the likes of Cornwall and the Isle of Wight.

Beverley said: “He was always laughing and joking. He had three brothers and they were all practical jokers.

"He was generally a good man which makes the circumstances of his death so hard.”

Beverley said that her father was not being monitored at the hospital when he had his fall, saying: “They have had an internal investigation and admitted their standards fell apart.

"My mum lost her entire life because of this. Dad was the fit and active one and now she has had to lose her house and go in a care home. That’s why we want some compensation.”

Dr Hamish McLure, Chief Medical Officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We are very sorry that Mr Jackson’s care was not to the standard that he should have received.

“Keeping our patients safe is very important to us and we have taken steps to address the issues that contributed to Mr Jackson’s death so that we can reduce the risk of similar incidents happening in the future. This involves close monitoring of staff falls training, ‘safety huddles’ and monthly ward meetings to review practice, and regular falls audits to highlight recurrent problems and develop solutions.

“We are working with Mr Jackson’s family to bring their claim to a conclusion as soon as possible.”