INQUEST JURY FINDS NEGLECT CONTRIBUTED TO ESTA HIGH'S DEATH

An inquest jury found that neglect contributed to Esta High’s death from meningitis at Leeds General Infirmary in November 2023. The jury concluded that care she did not receive would probably have saved or prolonged her life. Esta arrived at the emergency department with a high temperature and vomiting, days before she died on 6 November. She had tested positive for coronavirus, and the jury found that doctors missed opportunities to investigate a bacterial infection while maintaining a Covid diagnosis.

Esta became ill on 31 October, according to her mother, Lynsey Carr. Carr said she and Esta’s father, Leon High, refused advice to take their daughter home because she continued vomiting and her temperature exceeded 40C. Carr told Wakefield Coroner’s Court that Esta developed a rash and that one arm began shaking, raising her concern about a seizure. “We kept asking for help,” Carr told the jury, saying staff did not listen to the family’s concerns. On 2 November, Esta became unresponsive; scans and other tests indicated meningoencephalitis and streptococcus pneumoniae.

Clinicians transferred Esta to intensive care and tried to save her life. The court heard that streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis caused her death. Lawyers for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust acknowledged missed opportunities to diagnose the bacterial infection and give her antibiotics. Carr said the family spent 15 hours in a children’s assessment and treatment unit, where she believed staff focused on isolating Esta because of the Covid risk. She told the court that Esta had gone untreated for 55 hours.