Pensioner died three weeks after Walsall crash

Harpal Cheema was left with fractures to the chest bone and ribs after the car she was in hit a brick wall in Caldmore Road in Caldmore.

But despite being taken to Walsall Manor Hospital following the accident on March 9, the 85-year-old was not kept in.

After suffering pain at home she was admitted on March 26, but died on April 7.

At an inquest this week at Smethwick Council House, Walsall Manor Hospital A&E doctor Satwant Ali said Mrs Cheema, of Barrow Close, Walsall Wood, complained of neck and back pain, but not the chest.

She was assessed by him and junior doctor Parmjit Sanghera and given an X-ray after which a wrist fracture was diagnosed.

Dr Ali told the inquest: "She said her neck and spine hurt, there was no nerve injury, but she complained about pain in her upper back. I asked her if she had pain in her chest which she denied."

He told the hearing he was unaware that she had problems with her joints. If he was aware he had issues with her joints, he would have carried out further checks, he said.

Pathologist Dr Ye Lin Hock gave the cause of death as severe bronchopneumonia, sternum and rib fractures with abscesses and blunt chest trauma. Dr Hock said: "On balance of probabilities she had underlying medical conditions which pre-disposed her to infections. In this instance the sequence of events were that she was in a road traffic collision and suffered a chest injury.

"She was suffering from pain, the ribs were broken and these became infected as well. And that played a major role in the development of her condition. She may well have contracted bronchopneumonia at any time with her other conditions." Assistant Coroner gave a verdict of accidental death.