Trial By Error

Category: inquest

  • Trail By Error: Agencies Respond to Coroner’s Report in Boothby O’Neill Inquest

    The British government, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), NHS England, and others have responded to Deborah Archer, the coroner in the case of 27-year-old Maeve Boothby O’Neill, who died in 2021 from complications of ME after three hospitalizations failed to halt her decline. At the same time, the Royal Devon University…

  • Extensive News Coverage of Exeter Coroner’s “Report to Prevent Future Deaths”

    The case of Maeve Boothby O’Neill, who died in 2021 of malnutrition from severe ME after three hospitalizations failed to halt her decline, has received widespread media attention in the UK. In the most recent development, Deborah Archer, the coroner who conducted the inquest into the matter, this week issued what is called a “Report…

  • Coroner in Boothby O’Neill Inquest Issues Report to Prevent Future Deaths

    For two weeks in late July and early August, His Majesty’s Assistant Coroner Deborah Archer heard testimony regarding the death of Maeve Boothby O’Neill, a 27-year-old woman who died of malnutrition after three hospitalizations at the Royal Deven and Exeter Hospital (RDE) failed to address her severe case of ME. While Archer’s report on the…

  • UK Health Care Professionals Appeal to Health Secretary for Quick Action on Poor ME Care

    Tuesday, September 17th, was World Patient Safety Day. (I didn’t know that either.) In the UK, more than 200 physicians, nurses and other health care providers and professionals marked the occasion by issuing an appeal—in the form of a letter to Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care since–about the dire state…

  • Little Sign of CBT/GET Ideologues in News Coverage of Inquest and BBC Breakfast Segment on ME and Long Covid

    One interesting aspect of the recent inquest into the death of Maeve Boothby O’Neill was the widespread news coverage. Maeve died in October, 2021, in Exeter, UK, of malnutrition arising from her severe ME, as the coroner ruled a few weeks ago. During the two weeks of testimony, from July 22nd through August 2nd, print…

  • Post-Inquest Comments from Sarah Boothby, Maeve’s Mum

    During the inquest into the death of Maeve Boothby O’Neill, both of her parents refrained from making public statements about the proceedings. The inquest was held in Exeter, in southwest England, UK, from July 22nd till August 2nd. After the coroner, Deborah Archer, issued her findings–that Maeve died of malnutrition as a consequence of her…

  • A Deeper Dive into the Inquest’s “Findings and Conclusions”

    Last Friday, August 9th, assistant coroner Deborah Archer read in court her “findings and conclusions” in the inquest into the death of Maeve Boothby O’Neill, the 27-year-old woman from Exeter, UK. Three hospitalizations in the months before Maeve died in October, 2021, failed to resolve her failing nutritional status. Over the course of two weeks…

  • Valerie Eliot Smith on the Inquest Findings

    On Friday, Deborah Archer, the coroner in the inquest into the death of Maeve Boothby O’Neill, issued her factual findings. The bottom line: Maeve died from “malnutrition caused by severe ME.” Archer found that the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital and others involved in her care acted properly. She rejected the request of Maeve’s parents…

  • Whitney Dafoe and Naomi Whittington Reflect on Severe ME and the Inquest into the Death of Maeve Boothby O’Neill

    On Friday, August 9th (tomorrow), Deborah Archer, the coroner who presided over the inquest into the death of Maeve Boothby O’Neill, will issue her findings of fact. Following that, she has tentatively scheduled another day of testimony on September 27th. The testimony during the two-week inquest, held in Exeter, England, UK, revealed starkly that the…

  • Sean O’Neill’s Inquest Statement

    Last Thursday, both of Maeve Boothby O’Neill’s parents testified at the inquest into her 2021 death from ME-related complications. (I earlier posted Sarah Boothby’s statement as read into the record.) It was the penultimate day of two weeks of court sessions in Exeter, in the south-east of England, UK. The coroner, Deborah Archer, is scheduled…

  • Sarah Boothby’s Statement to the Inquest

    The two weeks of public hearings in the inquest into the death of Maeve Boothby O’Neill ended on Friday. (The coroner, Deborah Archer, plans to issue her findings on the facts this coming Friday.) Last Thursday, both of Maeve’s parents testified. Her mom, Sarah Boothby, took the stand first. She read most of the statement…

  • Dr Weir’s Letters on Treatment of Maeve Boothby O’Neill

    William Weir is an infectious disease physician in London who has treated many ME/CFS patients. He has been involved in some of the ongoing cases in England in which severely ill teenage girls and young women, and their families, have been in conflict with their local hospitals about the best approach to treatment. In general,…