Devastated family hope for answers into Scarborough cyclist's death

John Thompson died aged 69 on June 9 2017 after suffering serious chest and shoulder injuries when he fell from his bike while cycling near the bottom of Reasty Bank Road in Harwood Dale.

The husband and father-of-two was taken to the Major Trauma Centre at Middlesbrough’s James Cook University Hospital following the incident but sadly passed away shortly afterwards.

An inquest into John’s death is now set to be held on Friday July 27th at Middlesbrough Coroner’s Court and his family have revealed how they remain desperate for further information regarding both how he left his bike and the treatment he received afterwards.

After the accident, Elaine and the family instructed specialist medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to represent and support them during the Coroner’s inquest.

The family have some concerns after an internal NHS investigation highlighted issues with the medical care provided to John immediately after the accident.

John’s widow Elaine Thompson, who was married to him for 46 years, said: “A year on from my husband’s death the entire family still miss him so much – it is hard to believe he is no longer here with us.

“We still have so many questions regarding what happened to him and will not rest until we have a clearer picture of the issues which ultimately led to his death. Hopefully this inquest will give us some of the answers we need and ensure that any issues he faced are never repeated in the future.”

Ross McWilliams, a specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell’s Leeds Doffice who is representing the family, said: “More than a year on from John’s death, his loved ones still have a huge number of questions regarding the incident which led to his death and also whether he received the right support in the vital hours shortly after the event.

“We are determined to help the family get the answers they deserve and are hopeful that this inquest will be the first step in the right direction.

“As in any case of this nature, our fundamental hope is that important issues will be raised which in turn will ensure that lessons can be learned from this case.”

The inquest will be held at Middlesbrough Coroner’s Court from 11am tomorrow (July 27).