Oli Coppock suffered a cardiac arrest and was left with almost complete paralysis after being sent home from Warrington Hospital's emergency department without a brain scan, his family says.

Coppock, who was 32 at the time, attended A&E in May 2024 with severe headaches and dizziness. He had recently received treatment for a brain tumour and had also been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

He underwent tests and assessments but was discharged without a scan. A week later, fluid had built up on his brain and he suffered a cardiac arrest. He did not recover and is now being cared for in a neurological rehabilitation unit.

His father, Stephen Coppock, said his son can communicate only by blinking and requires tubes for breathing, feeding and toileting. The family, including Oli's six siblings, had been left “angry and broken”, he said.

“The hospital didn't get the basics right and my son has paid a terrible price – it's ruined his life,” Stephen said. “It was an awful error.”

Trust accepts breach of duty

North Cheshire and Mersey NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Warrington Hospital's A&E, has accepted a breach of duty over the failure to order a CT brain scan.

The trust said that, on the balance of probabilities, a scan would have identified the fluid build-up and led to surgery to address it. It said: “We are deeply sorry that Mr Coppock did not receive that standard of care that should be expected and we recognise the distress and lasting impact on patients and their families when harm is caused.”

An interim damages payment has been agreed. However, Oli's solicitor, Tanzeela Aslam of Express Solicitors, said it had taken more than two years to reach that point, delaying access to funds for therapies and support.

Rise in A&E negligence claims

A BBC analysis of NHS Resolution figures and freedom of information requests found that 1,623 A&E-related clinical negligence claims were made in England in 2025-26, compared with 1,151 in 2020-21. That represents a 41% increase over five years.

The value of the claims exceeded £550m in 2025-26, although not every claim results in compensation. Damages are paid in about half of cases, according to the report.

A&E is now the largest area for clinical negligence claims by number. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine linked the increase to pressure on emergency departments, staffing challenges and long waits.

Over the previous two years, one in 10 patients attending A&E spent more than 12 hours waiting to be treated or discharged. Dr Adrian Boyle of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine described the figures as “sobering”, while noting that negligence cases remained relatively rare, at about one for every 17,000 A&E attendances.

NHS Resolution said it was taking action on the high volume of claims and had published reports to help the NHS learn from mistakes. The report said these included missing signs of acute deterioration, failing to order necessary tests and scans, and making incorrect diagnoses.

For Stephen Coppock, the impact remains immediate. “Every waking hour” is spent worrying about his son, he said. “I know staff are under pressure, but this is about doing the basics right. They failed Oli.”