Parents win battle for inquest into infant's death who died after inhaling diesel fumes from hospital window
BODELWYDAM, WALES: After fighting for five years to obtain an inquest into the death of their twin newborn daughter, whose parents believe she died by inhaling diesel fumes from an open hospital window, the parents have finally succeeded. In February 2017, at the Ysbyty Glan Clwyd hospital in Bodelwyddan, Wales, Annie-Jo Mountcastle and her sister Florence-Rose were born 12 weeks early, weighing just 2lb 1oz and 2lb 2oz, respectively.
They both spent three months in an incubator as the hospital built a brand-new $22 million newborn critical care unit at that time. Annie-Jo was discovered dead in her cot at home six months after being released from the hospital when she was just nine months old. The sisters had developed persistent lung diseases.
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Amy Dean and David Mountcastle, Annie-Jo's parents, think that red diesel fumes from the construction activity got into their daughter's incubator and eventually caused her grave health difficulties, as per reports. In order to determine if "the pollutants more than minimally contributed to Annie-Jo's death," Coroner John Gittins has now mandated a thorough inquiry.
The local health board conducted an earlier examination into their concerns, but NHS leaders concluded "no harm" had been done to them, as reported by the Daily Mail. The incident was examined in a report written by Sailesh Kotecha, professor and director of the Cardiff University Center for Child Health, and Jonathan Grigg, professor of pediatric respiratory and environmental medicine at the Queen Mary University of London.
According to the professors, the employees' evaluation should have been more thorough, and their report "vindicated the parents' concerns that their twins were likely exposed to air pollution." However, it noted, there was no proof to suggest that it was the reason for Annie-Jo's unfortunate death. The cause of Annie-Jo's death at home in Llanfair Talhaiarn, close to Abergele, is still unknown, and a thorough inquest will be placed in due time, according to a decision made during a hearing at Ruthin County Hall.
Coroner Gittins said, "The parents remain at the heart of my investigation. It is far, far too long for them to wait to try and get answers." According to further statements by Gittin, evidence showed that the baby had experienced "significant exposure" to diesel fumes during the neonatal stage. Nonetheless, he claimed that there is "no objective evidence that this has long-term impacts on the respiratory system." The twins' eyes were enlarged when they were born, according to the parents, and a persistent lung condition was recognized when they were just 28 days old.
When Annie-Jo was further exposed to harmful gases, her respiratory system was already affected, according to a statement by the family's legal attorney Janine Wolstenholme. She said that rather than serving as a barrier, the incubator she was placed in may have "exacerbated her exposure to the fumes."
Both BAM Construction, the business that built the $22 million newborn intensive care unit at the Bodelwyddan hospital, and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board were represented by attorneys in the court. When the complete inquest investigating the infant's death on November 17, 2017, is heard later in the year, both parties are anticipated to be represented.
According to Colin Moore, who is defending BAM Construction, there is "clearly a gap in terms of causation," and the company disputes the scope of the alleged liability. He claimed that the professors, Kotecha and Grigg, "did not have the complete picture, but seemed willing to make assumptions and form conclusions based on those assumptions." Moreover, the coroner has given BAM until the end of the next eight weeks to provide a statement that includes information about the project's scope, schedule, completed tasks, machinery used, and health and safety inspections.