Hednesford mother in vow to find answers over tragedy

Eight-month-old Freddy Booth, of Hednesford, Staffordshire, died from a liver disease rarely seen in children.

He was admitted to Birmingham Children's Hospital with complications hours after his birth in July 2011, an inquest heard. Medics said he was extremely poorly.

Dozens of tests, including liver and muscle biopsies, were carried out on the child over the ensuing months but the cause of his condition remains a mystery.

He died at Acorns Hospice in Walsall where he was moved after doctors assessed his condition to be terminal. He had spent only eight weeks of his life at the family home in Mount Street.

His parents blame his death in March last year on the hospital and have appointed solicitors to look into a legal claim.

Dr Tamas Marton, a paediatric pathologist at Birmingham Women's Hospital, who carried out the post mortem, said the youngster was initially put on the list for a liver transplant but his name was later removed after tests showed his problems extended beyond his liver.

He said Freddy died of bleeding in his gullet brought on by the liver disorder which he believed was caused by mitochondrial disease, a problem with the cells in the body.

"This is a very complicated case – many professionals have been involved and continue to be involved. It is very difficult to tell what was the fundamental cause of the liver disease but there might be the potential to find out through the muscle tissue taken in the biopsies."

Dr Indra Mourik, a liver specialist at Birmingham Children's Hospital, said the child had suffered a very rough first few weeks of life. She saw him in October and November of 2011 when his jaundice levels had risen significantly and he was admitted to the liver unit. "He got sicker very quickly. He also had a chest infection. He recovered and was taken off the ventilator but, in all that, his liver disease just got worse."

She said testing for mitochondrial disease was very difficult and still in its infancy. "The tests came back negative but that's not to say he hadn't got the condition."

Black Country coroner Robin Balmain, sitting at Smethwick council house, returned a verdict of natural causes. He said: "This has been an extraordinarily distressing case for everyone."

His parents Ray Booth and Colette Skerman, said their son was making progress until a stoma was inserted and believe mistakes were made by the hospital. Miss Skerman said: "I promised my son I would get justice for him. We will not let this rest."