A SENIOR coroner told an inquest he had ‘concerns’ after x-rays twice failed to pick up a woman’s fractured neck.

Shelia Cain, from Haslingden, was admitted to Royal Blackburn Hospital last October 29 after falling at her home in Park Crescent.

She died from heart complications 19 days later.

Blackburn coroner Michael Singleton ruled that the delayed diagnosis of her neck injuries was not the reason for her death but raised concerns her condition had not been diagnosed.

Mr Singleton heard how two x-rays taken by radiographers at Royal Blackburn Hospital did not reveal the fracture to Mrs Cain’s C2 vertebra because they were of of such poor quality that they were ‘suboptimal’.

Mrs Cain, a retired secretary, was given physiotherapy on her broken neck and the fracture was only picked up by a CT scan after she complained about persistent pain.

The 84-year-old was transferred to Royal Preston Hospital for successful emergency surgery but died on November 16.

Mr Singleton said it seemed ‘blindingly obvious’ that another x-ray should have been taken in Blackburn.

He told reporting radiographer Genevieve Wilson and Dr Mohamed Ibriak: “If the x-ray wasn’t clear, why not do another afterwards? The x-ray is useless. There is no obvious fracture because you can’t see the neck.”

Dr Ibriak told Mrs Cain’s husband, Ronald, and her daughter, Margaret Tattersall, that she would not have been given physiotherapy if he had known about the fracture.

Professor Timothy Dawson, who carried out a post-mortem examination on Mrs Cain’s body, gave the medical cause of death as left ventricular heart failure due to severe coronary artery disease and fibrosis, but also noted her traumatic spinal injuries had been operated on.

He said: “The failure to diagnose that pain did not significantly compromise the cord function. It’s a difficult point to address. Would this lady have passed away if she had not had a traumatic injury? On the balance of probability, I would say no, but it’s a difficult decision.”

Addressing Mrs Cain’s delayed diagnosis in his narrative conclusion, Mr Singleton said: “It seems to me from evidence I have heard that this would not prove to be significant in that there was no injury sustained to the spinal cord, and it does not seem that fall caused or contributed to the death of Shelia Cain.

“That’s not to say that it doesn’t concern me and obviously she was in a lot of pain for a number of days.”