A man who was 'in the prime of his life' died just 50 minutes after calling his dad to say he 'felt funny', an inquest heard.
Mark Bennett collapsed inside a Boots store in the Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield in April last year. He had developed venous thromboembolism as a result of immobility following an injury to his foot, YorkshireLive reports.
His parents Steven and Elaine Bennett had to wait for an agonising 50 minutes for paramedics to arrive on the scene after their son collapsed, the inquest was told. Despite first-aiders at Boots battling to keep him alive with CPR, Mark tragically died.
His family told the inquest how before his death, the 38-year-old was 'really excited' about buying a flat in Manchester. Sheffield's Medico-Legal Centre heard on Tuesday (February 28) how IT worker Mark was struck down with venous thromboembolism just 10 days after a fall at a London Underground station.
On April 14 last year, his parents had taken him to Meadowhall for a day out while he was still recovering. As they waited outside Boots, Mark called dad Steven from inside, saying: "Dad, come quick, I feel funny."
Giving evidence at the inquest, Steven said: "I couldn't see him and the next thing I knew he was in one of the aisles - he had already collapsed. He had staff all around him and they were giving him CPR, the staff were tremendous.
"Boots staff phoned for a paramedic straight away but were told it could be half an hour. I shook my head in disbelief at that point but they actually took 50 minutes.
"I always wonder if they had turned up earlier whether they could have saved his life."
Describing his son, he said: "He was a very caring character - he had a lot of time for people. He was a very intelligent young man.
"He was very sensitive and had a lot of empathy for people. He was hardworking and methodical in his thinking. He was a very nice person to know."
Coroner Stephen Eccleston heard how on 10 days earlier, on April 4, Mark tripped on some steps at a London Tube station and landed 'awkwardly', injuring his right foot. A&E doctor Akash Mittal, who treated Mark at London's Royal Free Hospital in the early hours of the following day, told the inquest Mark's foot showed signs of a fracture and tissue damage and had an air cast boot fitted to the foot.
However, crucially, it was decided that Mark posed no risk of developing deep vein thrombosis and so blood-thinning drugs were not prescribed. While Mark was recovering at his parents' home in Grimsby, in Lincolnshire, he complained of pain at the back of his leg and attended Grimsby's Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital.
However, an orthopaedics doctor diagnosed 'minor swelling' and recommended a further assessment three weeks later. The inquest was told that during his assessment at hospital in London, Mark was scored as posing 'zero' risk of developing venous thromboembolism when measured against a scale known as the Plymouth VTE Risk Score.
However, Dr Akash Mittal admitted that since news of Mark's death emerged he had changed his practice, 're-emphasising' the risks that injuries such as Mark's posed. Speaking outside of the inquest, Mark's family described how he was 'in the prime of his life' when he died.
The 38-year-old was 'really excited' about buying a flat in Manchester and had missed out on seeing his niece become a toddler. While his IT career specialising in Apple and Microsoft products was 'going somewhere'.
Describing the events of April 14, Steven said: "It was awful, they're just images you can't get out of your mind. You go to sleep at night and the thing that goes through your mind are those images. It was a harrowing 50 minutes and we still have our moments. There's nothing worse than losing one of your own kids.
"It seems the scoring system the hospital has got is totally flawed - why didn't they give him blood-thinning medication as a precaution?"
The inquest continues.
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