"With the correct care, my husband would still be here

WIFE'S INQUEST ANGER AS CORONER RULES DELAYS IN DIAGNOSING DAD'S EPILEPSY CONTRIBUTED TO DEATH

- THOMAS GEORGE

A BELOVED dad suffered a seizure and never woke up after doctors failed to spot that he had epilepsy.

James Thomson, 39, died from a condition known as SUDEP, or sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, after falling ill at his home in Prestwich in September 2022.

The dad-of-two had a 'history of unexplained episodes of collapse' and had suffered multiple seizures in the years before his death.

Despite being admitted to hospital on several occasions, doctors never diagnosed his epilepsy.

At an inquest at Manchester Coroner's Court, a coroner ruled that delays in diagnosing and treating James had contributed towards his death.

Lorna Thomson, James's wife, told the inquest that she had watched her husband 'suffer for four years' with seizures and had battled to have him diagnosed with epilepsy.

She said James first suffered an unexplained collapse in March 2010 when he fell and hit his head while at work.

He was left with a bleed on the brain and was given anti-seizure medication for six months.

After suffering a further seizure at work in November 2018, Mrs Thomson said her husband began to experience severe anxiety, for which he began taking medication. He suffered two further collapses between January and April 2019 but Mrs Thomson said her husband 'worked hard to maintain a healthy lifestyle' to combat his seizures and was an 'active runner.