Parents bid for new inquest into baby’s death
THE parents of a baby boy who died after developing a respiratory illness are set to go to High Court to try to secure a second inquest into the death of their son.
Ben Condon died at eight weeks old from a lung condition after his parents were told it was ‘just a cold’ by staff at Bristol Children’s Hospital in 2015.
Premature Ben was not prescribed antibiotics until just over an hour before he died after suffering two cardiac arrests and his parents claim that was a fatal error.
An inquest was carried out into Ben’s death at Avon Coroner’s Court in 2016 where it was determined that Ben’s death was a result of premature birth and acute respiratory distress syndrome.
A coroner at the inquest disagreed with Ben’s parents that their son’s death could have been prevented by antibiotics.
However, University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, which runs hospital, later apologised to Ben’s parents in 2017 following a reappraisal and admitted that failing to give antibiotics had contributed to his death.
His parents, Olympic sprinter Allyn Condon, 46, and Jenny Condon, have now been granted permission by the Attorney General to push for a second inquest into their son’s death. The couple, who live in Weston-superMare, are now awaiting a date to attend High Court to request the results of the first inquest are quashed and a new inquest to be carried out.
A spokesperson for University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust told the BBC it remains “deeply sorry for the distress caused to Mr and Mrs Condon”. They added: “We are aware that the Attorney General has agreed to Mr Condon’s request for an application to decide whether a fresh inquest should take place, and we await the decision of the High Court.”