Toddler Dies After Trainee Doctor Pierces Artery During Routine Liver Biopsy
A three-year-old boy has tragically died after a trainee doctor pierced his artery during what should have been a routine liver biopsy at Birmingham Children's Hospital. Aarav Chopra, from Wolverhampton, passed away on November 22, 2023, following a "prolonged" cardiac arrest caused by massive bleeding into his chest cavity.
Procedure Goes Horrifically Awry
The young boy had been suffering from serious liver disease and had undergone a liver transplant months earlier that his parents had hoped would mark a "new beginning" for their son. However, when his body began rejecting the new organ, doctors ordered a liver biopsy at Birmingham Children's Hospital - a typically safe, standard procedure that went catastrophically wrong.
A trainee doctor nicked a major artery with a needle during the surgery, and despite nearly 30 minutes of resuscitation attempts, Aarav died from serious brain damage. An inquest into the youngster's death heard that the bleed went "undiagnosed and untreated" as the biopsy was carried out.
Coroner Blasts "Poor Planning" and Communication Failures
Birmingham's Senior Coroner, Louise Hunt, delivered a damning report that highlighted multiple failures in Aarav's care. She criticized "poor planning" by staff before the procedure and noted there was "poor" communication about the bleed Aarav suffered, "all of which hampered treatment after his collapse."
The coroner also noted significant "confusion around the experience of the trainee doctor performing the biopsy." The trainee was initially thought to be in year six of training but was later discovered to be only in year four. Crucially, Aarav's parents were never informed that a trainee would be performing the biopsy on their son.
Medication Error and Procedural Mistakes
Aarav had been prescribed antiplatelet medication to prevent blood clots following complications from his liver transplant. This medication should have been stopped a week before the biopsy, but this critical step was overlooked.
During the procedure, the trainee doctor inserted a needle through Aarav's rib muscles, but medics didn't realize at the time that the needle "did not follow the correct pathway" and had pierced the boy's artery. Aarav went into cardiac arrest approximately an hour later, and despite emergency surgery to repair his torn artery, he died the following day.
NHS Trust Admits Liability and Apologizes
Following the inquest, Aarav's parents Kishore and Amrita instructed solicitors Irwin Mitchell to investigate their son's care. Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust has now admitted liability and paid an undisclosed settlement to the family.
The Trust stated there "was a failure to adequately manage" Aarav's condition once the build-up of blood was recognized. With "appropriate care," Aarav's cardiac arrest and death "would have been avoided" on the balance of probabilities, the Trust acknowledged.
In a letter to the grieving parents, the Trust's chief executive officer and chair wrote: "Whilst no words will ever be adequate given your profound loss, we want to express our deep sorrow for the failings in our care that contributed to Aarav's death." The letter confirmed the Trust "fully accept" the coroner's conclusion and had "admitted liability in full" in the civil case.
Parents' Heartbreaking Testimony
Kishore, 38, described his son as "the most adorable little boy" who "brought sunshine to our lives, and the world is a much darker place without him." He added: "We hoped his transplant would be a new start in life for Aarav. It remains difficult to accept that he went into hospital for what we thought would be a relatively routine biopsy and never came home."
The couple revealed their grief was compounded by the Trust's treatment of them as they tried to uncover what had gone wrong. Kishore explained: "After our son's death, we struggled to obtain even the most basic answers. The whole process was complex and overwhelming and when Birmingham Children's Hospital eventually responded, we felt there was still no accountability from them."
Amrita, 36, expressed her hope that other hospital trusts would "reflect on how they support and listen to grieving families." She added: "I don't think we'll ever get over losing Aarav especially in the way we did. The last few years and how Aarav should be at home with us and causing mischief with his little brother has almost broken us. No parent should have to suffer the loss of a child but to then feel like you're not being listened to when raising concerns just adds to the hurt and pain."
Aarav had been diagnosed with biliary atresia, a condition where the flow of bile out of the liver becomes blocked. His liver transplant on August 15, 2023, initially offered hope, but complications led to the fateful biopsy procedure that ended his young life.
