Practice admits breach of duty over vaccine death

Jack Hurn, 26, died after he was diagnosed with blood clots on the brain

A medical practice has accepted that a 26-year-old man who died within two weeks of taking AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine was not told the correct risk.

Jack Hurn, from Redditch, developed blood clots on the brain in June 2021 after he got the jab at the Revival Fires Clinic in Dudley.

At the time, the advice was to offer alternative vaccines to people under 30 because of known risks.

Anchor Medical Practice has admitted a breach of duty but has not accepted liability for Mr Hurn’s death.

His family are taking legal action against the doctors practice, claiming that the decision to vaccinate that day destroyed their lives.

His girlfriend Alex Jones said: “I think about getting married and having children. I am starting again because of what has been taken away from me.

"I don’t think they understand. How can we get on with our lives now that Jack has gone?”

His mother Tracey Hurn said: “His last words were ‘I am scared, I am scared’. We have to live with that for the rest of our lives. Our son was terrified."

Mr Hurn, a former student at Coventry University, drove with his girlfriend from their home to the Dudley centre on 29 May 2021 for the vaccination.

From 7 April that year, guidance from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) had changed and suggested that under 30s should be offered alternatives to the AstraZeneca jab.

Ms Jones claimed they were not told about the seriousness of the side effects.

“It was not made clear to us that it was fatal and the blood clots were on the brain. That would have made a difference to us,” she said.

The vaccination centre was run by the local Primary Care Network and the lead practice was Anchor Medical Practice.

Anchor Medical Practice did not administer the vaccine.

In a letter sent to Mr Hurn's family's lawyers, seen by the BBC, lawyers representing the practice said: “It is admitted that Jack was told the risk magnitude was one in 250,000 in respect of clotting when the actual risk magnitude for his age group was one in 50,000.

"It is admitted that the failure to provide the correct risk magnitude for blood clots at the time of obtaining Jack’s consent was a breach of duty.”

The lawyers said Mr Hurn had driven 45 minutes for the vaccine and was keen to get on with his life.

"It is for the claimant to prove that Jack would have refused the vaccination had the correct risk magnitude been communicated to him, so we make no admissions in that regard," they said.

Jack Hurn and girlfriend Alex Jones both had an AstraZeneca jab at the clinic

Mr Hurn started to develop headaches on 6 June, eight days after he was vaccinated, and went to Alexandra Hospital in Redditch where a blood clot was identified.

The family believe that he suffered a stroke the following day but could not visit him because of the Covid restrictions.

He was transferred to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham where the family were told there was nothing more that could be done and he died on 11 June.

Dr Sandhu, of Anchor Medical Practice, said: “Our deepest condolences are with Jack's friends and family following his tragic death. We are in legal conversations, so it is hard to comment in full on the background."

“Part of the vaccine programme was delivered by Dudley and Netherton Primary Care Network (PCN). Anchor Medical Practice was the lead practice for the PCN at the time of the vaccination programme.

"This could explain why Anchor Medical Practice is named as the defendant in this case, as PCNs are not legal entities in the same way that a practice is.

“The vaccination programme was not solely the responsibility of Anchor Medical Practice and it was not the location of the vaccination clinics.

"This was a joint enterprise carried out by Dudley and Netherton PCN. The clinicians working at the centre, based at Revival Fires, on the day of the vaccination in question were from across the PCN practices."

According to World Health Organization (WHO) data, almost 400,000 lives were estimated to have been saved in England between December 2020 and March 2023 due to the Covid-19 vaccine programme.

The safety of vaccines has been extensively reviewed in both adults and children by the MHRA, the NHS said.

It added that the MHRA monitor the safety of the vaccines and reports of serious side effects were very rare.