Boy, 13, with dairy allergy died after pupil threw cheese down his T-shirt
‘I knew it was life-threatening’
A SCHOOLBOY with a severe dairy allergy collapsed and died after having cheese thrown down his shirt by another pupil, a coroner heard yesterday.
Karanbir Cheema, 13, suffered from asthma and was allergic to wheat, gluten, nuts, eggs and dairy products.
A pre-inquest hearing was told the youngster, known as Karan, was gasping for breath and went into anaphylactic shock after another child at William Perkin Church of England High School, in Greenford, west London, chased him and threw the cheese.
The boy, also 13, was initially arrested by police on suspicion of murder, but has not been charged. It is understood he has since left the school. Karan, who was described as ‘very bright’ and had aspirations to become a computer engineer, suffered a heart attack and stopped breathing. Although paramedics managed to resuscitate him, he never regained consciousness and died in hospital ten days later.
Yesterday paramedic Kierin Oppatt told St Pancras Coroner’s Court in inner London, of his desperate attempts to save Karan on June 28 last year.
‘On arrival at the scene I immediately knew it was life-threatening and that the patient had a high risk of going into cardiac and respiratory arrest,’ Mr Oppatt said. ‘We were told by school staff that perhaps someone had chased the patient with cheese and had proceeded to throw it down his T-shirt. We saw Karan lying on his back on the floor with teachers around him.
‘He appeared to be in a state of pre-arrest. He had very slow respiration – he was gasping for air.
‘His skin was red and there appeared to be hives.’
Staff had given Karan, who also suffered from eczema, his EpiPen, a device used by those with severe allergies to inject themselves with medication in the event of a reaction. They also gave him two spoonfuls of the anti-allergy medicine Piriton, by the time paramedics arrived shortly after 11.45am.
Although Karan was breathing, he went into cardiac arrest in minutes and they began CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).
He was taken to Great Ormond Street Hospital but died with his parents, Armajeet and Rina Cheema, at his bedside on July 9. A full inquest will take place in due course. Parents of other teenagers at the school previously said Karan was being bullied and cheese was hidden in his lunch by another pupil.
Speaking after the hearing Mrs Cheema, 52, said she needed answers about the run up to her son’s death. ‘I am devastated,’ she said. ‘He was a very, very bright young boy. He could have been anything he wanted.’
Mrs Cheema, who has three other children, said ‘I brought him up by myself. I trained him to read all about his condition.’