Blood clot from injured ankle killed motorbiker

Mar 19 2008 by Dave Black, The Journal

A KEEN motorcyclist died from an extremely rare medical complication less than two months after breaking his ankle in a biking accident, an inquest heard yesterday.

Car sales executive Alastair Kidd, 38, suffered a fracture of his left ankle when he slammed his foot against the ground to stop himself coming off his bike while taking part in a track racing day at Teesside Autodrome in March last year.

A plaster cast was put on the ankle and eventually removed at Wansbeck General Hospital on May 8, when medical staff saw no cause for concern and he was given advice about home exercise.

However, undetected deep vein thrombosis had developed in his calf while his leg was immobilised and he collapsed and died six days later from a blood clot which spread to his heart.

Yesterday Wansbeck Hospital orthopaedic surgeon Kevin Emerson told the inquest that in a career handling ‘tens of thousands’ of ankle breaks he had never before come across a death from pulmonary embolism caused by such a fracture.

Mr Kidd, a single man who lived with his parents in Steppey Lane, Lesbury near Alnwick, and worked for the Aln Motor Company in Amble, was able to drive home after the accident but was in pain and limping, and told a friend the following day that he had broken his ankle.

Mr Emerson told the Morpeth hearing that Mr Kidd was X-rayed at Alnwick Infirmary and referred to the trauma clinic at Wansbeck Hospital where a cast was put on the ankle.

He said anti-coagulant treatment was not used for ankle fractures in most parts of the world, because DVT and blood clots were not seen as a sufficient risk in such cases. He said he had never come across such a death in a career in which he has dealt with tens of thousands of ankle fractures. “I was very shocked when I heard that Mr Kidd had died. It is extremely disappointing that a patient comes in with a simple ankle fracture and dies of pulmonary embolism.”

Mr Emerson said it was an ‘extremely rare event’, and a study of 2,500 deaths in Malmo, Sweden, over the course of a year had found only one such case. He said Mr Kidd’s death would be raised at a meeting of the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust’s trauma and orthopaedic board.

He added:“We have been gathering information from various organisations in the UK, Europe, USA and Australia to look again at the guidelines.”

North Northumberland coroner Ian McCreath said he would raise the case with the UK’s Patient Safety Agency to see if any lessons could be learned in trying to avoid similar tragedies. “It is crystal clear that this was an extremely rare event, but no surveys have been carried out which help us as to just how rare it is,” he added.

After the hearing Mr Kidd’s father James said he had no criticism of his son’s medical care. “It was just one of those very unfortunate one-off things. In 99 out of 100 cases like this, Alastair would have been OK, but sadly in this one, he wasn’t.

“He had been a motorcyclist for years but decided it was too dangerous on the roads and to go on track days instead. We hope what has come out at today’s inquest will help make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Verdict: Accident.