Family of disabled St Annes woman who died tragically after week-long illness will challenge a 'natural causes' inquest verdict

The family of a disabled woman who died suddenly have won the right to challenge a court's decision to throw out their bid to change her 'natural causes' inquest verdict.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The Supreme Court decided to grant permission for the family of Jackie Maguire, who died as a result of a serious stomach ulcer on February 22 2017, to appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal dated June 2020.

Jackie, who had Down's Syndrome, had been ill for a week and a half and suffered a suspected seizure the day before her death.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Ambulance services had been called to the United Response Care Home in St Annes, where she lived, however, the 52-year-old became distressed and refused to go with paramedics. She was therefore allowed to remain at the home until the following morning, when she was rushed to Blackpool Victoria Hospital in a serious condition, and died later that day.

Jackie MaguireJackie Maguire
Jackie Maguire

Her mother, Muriel Maguire, maintains that Jackie did not have the capacity to make a informed decision to refuse medical help, and that she should have been consulted.

An inquest at Blackpool Town Hall in July 2018 handed down a conclusion of natural causes, which the family moved to challenge in the High Court in February 2019 - however, their application was dismissed. This decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal in June 2020.

They then took the case to the Supreme Court, which gave permission for them to challenge the ruling.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mrs Muriel Maguire said: "I am grateful and relieved the Supreme Court has granted me permission to appeal. My hope is to achieve a fresh inquest so that what really happened to Jackie will be made known and the deaths of others like Jackie will be prevented.

"Permission was granted on the 5th anniversary of Jackie’s death which I hope is a good sign. It has been a long, hard fight to get this far.

"The five years since Jackie’s death have gone so fast. We miss her greatly and think about her every day.”

Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, a digital subscription is just £1 per month for the first two months. Try us today by clicking HERE.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.