Brian Galea's death at Royal Preston Hospital 'avoidable'

Mr Galea's wife Michelle said she felt angry and betrayed

The death of a man who bled out after an artery was cut by mistake could have been "avoided", a coroner has said.

Brian Galea, 47, from Preston, was admitted to the Royal Preston Hospital with high blood pressure on 14 August last year but died a few hours later.

Preston Coroner's Court heard a specialist accidentally tore an artery while trying to remove a blood clot.

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it would be conducting a review of procedures.

Recording a narrative verdict, coroner Dr James Adeley said an embolectomy procedure to remove blockages should have been stopped earlier after blood pressure had been obtained.

He said the "cessation would have avoided the tear in the wall of the right pulmonary artery and Brian Galea's death".

Dr Dare Seriki, an interventional radiologist, was criticised for not carrying out a scan of the artery, which would have more accurately placed the clot and could have prevented the tear.

The coroner also highlighted significant failings by the trust in communicating risks and other treatments available to Mr Galea.

'Stolen from us'

Sean Hughes, medical director of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said the organisation expressed "sincere condolences" to Mr Galea's family.

In a statement, he said Mr Galea had "presented as a medical emergency and required urgent treatment".

"We undertook the most appropriate procedure, but regrettably complications arose which meant [he] did not survive the operation.

"We will now undertake a review of our practices and policies to see what lessons can be learned."

The Galea family's lawyer Diane Rostron said the outcome provided "some comfort" to the family by confirming the doctor who treated Mr Galea had failed to abandon the procedure when the 47-year-old's blood pressure reached a normal level.

"Had this been done, his artery would not have been perforated and he would still be alive today," she said.

Ms Rostron added she has been instructed by her clients to pursue a claim for clinical negligence against the trust.

After the inquest, Mr Galea's widow Michelle said she was "angry" and felt "betrayed" by her husband's care.

She said that her husband had been "stolen from us" and that her family "think it's a nightmare".