ANGRY relatives of a taxi driver who was left paralysed from the chest down after being refused a brain scan are planning to sue health bosses.

The move comes after medical top brass refused to accept responsibility for the injuries suffered by 26-year-old Craig Yates.

Craig, of Gordon Street, Darwen, was taken unconscious to Blackburn Infirmary after his car crashed in Blackburn town centre last November.

But his family claim doctors failed to give him a CT brain scan and he was told to take some Anadin when he was sent home two days later.

When Craig was eventually given a scan six days later, it was revealed he had suffered a brain haemorrhage.

He was transferred to the Royal Preston Hospital but suffered a second, massive haemorrhage shortly after arriving.

Blackburn and District NHS Trust has since held a top level internal investigation into the case, and its results were reported in private last month.

Officials admitted that, with hindsight, they may have been able to prevent the second, haemorrhage if they had known the extent of Craig's injury.

But they accepted no responsibility for his condition and concluded that medical staff had acted professionally in the light of information available to them.

Now Craig's sister Lorraine Holden has revealed the family have recruited a firm of solicitors which specialises in medical negligence claims.

And they have applied for legal aid to sue the Trust over what has happened.

Lorraine said: "I find it terrible that a senior consultant can't tell the difference between concussion and a potentially life-threatening brain haemorrhage, despite the fact that we kept telling them something was wrong.

"The answers we have been given weren't satisfactory and we intend to sue them on Craig's behalf."

Craig, a driver for Chippy's Private Hire in Darwen, has spent time on a life support machine and has undergone nearly eight hours of brain surgery.

He has since been transferred to Queen's Park Hospital and is paralysed from the chest down.

He has lost five stones in weight and is now undergoing intensive physiotherapy.

His brother David is running the London Marathon to raise money for neurological ward of the Royal Preston Hospital, which Craig's family say saved his life.

CT scans are not undertaken routinely on every patient admitted to local hospitals with a suspected head injury.

John Thomas, chief executive of the Blackburn and District NHS Trust, said that under normal circumstances the results of a complaint inquiry wouldn't be disclosed in public.

He added that, in the light of publicity surrounding Craig's case, he had decided to make an exception but Craig's family had initially expressed a desire that the matter be reported in private.

He added: "The review panel concluded that the medical staff had acted professionally and within national guidelines in the light of information given to them about Mr Yates' condition after the car accident.

"The availability of the CT scanner was not an issue in Mr Yates's care as when the scan was requested by medical staff it was undertaken on the same day.

"I am very sorry that Mrs Holden is not happy with the outcome of the review."

Rossendale and Darwen MP Janet Anderson mentioned the case in the House of Commons and demanded a full-scale public inquiry.

She said: "I am not very happy with the review and I am waiting to speak with the family to see if I can do anything further to help."

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