‘Courageous’ three-year-old Aarav Chopra died after a bungling trainee doctor accidentally pierced a major artery during a routine procedure at NHS Birmingham Children’s Hospital
An “adorable” three-year-old boy drowned in his own blood at an NHS hospital after a bungling trainee doctor accidentally pierced a major artery.
Aarav Chopra suffered a “prolonged” cardiac arrest which was triggered by a build up of blood in his chest cavity and died on November 22, 2023. The youngster had undergone a liver transplant several months earlier, but was called back for tests at Birmingham Children’s Hospital after his body began rejecting the organ. The youngster was having a routine liver biopsy when a trainee doctor pierced an artery with a needle.
Aarav, from Wolverhampton, died as a result of serious brain damage. Doctors spent nearly 30 minutes trying to resuscitate him, and an inquest heard his condition went “undiagnosed and untreated” during the procedure.
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Birmingham’s Senior Coroner Louise Hunt also blasted “poor planning” by staff before the biopsy. In her report, she said there was “poor” communication about the bleed Aarav suffered, “all of which hampered treatment after his collapse”. She also highlighted “confusion around the experience of the trainee doctor performing the biopsy”.
The inquest heard the trainee was thought to be a Year Six, but was only in Year Four of his training. Aarav’s parents did not know a trainee would be performing the biopsy on their son. Mrs Hunt also raised concerns that an internal meeting, following Aarav’s death found “there was no immediate learning from this tragedy”.
The inquest concluded that Aarav’s death was “contributed to by neglect”. Mrs Hunt has now issued a prevention of future deaths report, calling on Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust to set out what action it will take.
In statement after the inquest, Aarav’s heartbroken parents Kishore and Amrita Chopra said Aarav was “the most courageous little boy”, describing him as a “happy soul with the most beautiful smile and adorable laugh”. They added: “We will forever be proud of him for overcoming all the challenges he faced.
“His liver transplant was supposed to be a new beginning, a chance for him to live a better life. When he went into the hospital for tests, we never expected that he would never come home.”
They said they had raised concerns about a “lack of clarity and transparency” surrounding Aarav’s death for 12 months afterwards, and felt “vindicated” but also “deeply upset” by the inquest’s findings. “Aarav’s death is a loss that will stay with us forever. There is a void and emptiness in our lives that will never be filled. It is especially heartbreaking that Aarav will never grow up with his younger brother”, they said.
Aarav had a condition called biliary atresia, which blocked the flow of bile out of his liver. He underwent a liver transplant on August 15, 2023 but he suffered complications and was prescribed antiplatelet medication to prevent blood clots. After Aarav’s body started rejecting the liver, he was admitted to hospital on November 20, 2023, for a biopsy the following day. However, it was found that no consideration was given to stopping his antiplatelet medication, which should have happened a week before the procedure.
At the start of the procedure, a trainee doctor inserted a needle through Aarav’s rib muscles, the coroner’s report said. But this could not be seen on imaging and “it was not appreciated at the time that the needle did not follow the correct pathway”. A second, successful attempt at a biopsy was then made.
A scan taken at 12.10pm at the end of the procedure identified blood in Aarav’s chest cavity but it “was not identified as significant”. After the procedure Aarav became agitated, and medics struggled to take his blood pressure.
His parents raised concerns but it “was not appreciated that he needed further review”. He went into cardiac arrest at 1.30pm and an ultrasound at 2pm confirmed a large haemothorax, which is a build-up of blood, but no chest drain was inserted.
Aarav’s parents have now instructed medical negligence lawyers Irwin Mitchell to investigate with a view to suing the hospital trust. The family’s lawyer Catherine Lee said: “Aarav’s family remain devastated by his death and the events surrounding it. The inquest had identified extremely worrying issues in what happened. We continue to work with the hospital trust to conclude a separate civil case to try and come to terms with their ordeal the best they can.”
Dr Satish Rao, Chief Medical Officer at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We offer our sincere condolences to Aarav’s family and loved ones. It’s clear from the findings of this inquest, along with those from an investigation conducted by the Trust last year, that the standard of care provided did not meet those expected and, for this, we are truly sorry. Following the inquest, and our own review in 2024, changes were made to our processes to improve patient care.”