Parents of Wolverhampton boy, 3, receive official apology and compensation following death from biopsy error
The parents of a three-year-old boy who died after medics pierced an artery during surgery have received compensation and an official apology from health bosses.
Aarav Chopra suffered a fatal cardiac arrest caused by a build-up of blood in his chest cavity, which went unrecognised following a liver biopsy performed by a trainee doctor at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Aarav, who was from Wolverhampton, died as a result of serious brain damage suffered as doctors spent nearly 30 minutes trying to resuscitate him.
Following Aarav’s death, parents Kishore and Amrita Chopra, aged 38 and 36, instructed specialist medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to help investigate his care and secure answers.
An inquest found the build-up of blood in Aarav’s chest cavity went “undiagnosed and untreated” during the biopsy with a coroner ruling his death was “contributed to by neglect.”
Following the inquest, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust admitted liability in a separate legal claim brought by Irwin Mitchell representing the family.
It admitted there “was a failure to adequately manage” Aarav’s condition once the build-up of blood was recognised.
With “appropriate care”, Aarav’s cardiac arrest and death “would have been avoided” on the balance on probabilities, the trust admitted.
In a letter to Aarav’s parents, Matthew Boazman and Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, the trust’s chief executive officer and chair, said: “Whilst no words will ever be adequate given your profound loss, we want to express our deep sorrow for the failings in our care that contributed to Aarav's death.”
The letter added that the trust “fully accept” the coroner’s conclusion and had “admitted liability in full” in the civil case.
The pair said they recognised the importance of the trust being able to demonstrate the “necessary changes and improvements” it had made following Aarav’s death to honour his “legacy” and thanked Kishore and Amrita for working with the trust to improve care.
Irwin Mitchell has since secured an undisclosed settlement for Aarav’s parents.
Catherine Lee, the expert medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing Kishore and Amrita, said: “Aarav’s loved ones remain devastated by his avoidable death.
“Kishore and Amrita would rather not be in this position, but since Aarav’s death, all they’ve wanted is for the most thorough investigations to be conducted so all lessons can be learned to improve patient safety for others.
“Nothing can ever make up for the pain they continue to endure but we’re pleased that we’ve been able to secure them with the answers they deserve and some form of closure.
“Whilst the trust has recognised the severity of the failings Aarav suffered, and the need for improvements, it’s now vital that staff are supported to uphold the highest standard of care at all times.”
Aarav had undergone a liver transplant in August 2023, which his body rejected, and the youngster was admitted to hospital and underwent a biopsy on November 21, 2023.
The first biopsy attempt was unsuccessful, but a second attempt was.
A scan at the end of the biopsy identified blood in Aarav’s chest cavity, but medics did not identify it as significant and did not raise concerns about a bleed to other staff.
Aarav went into cardiac arrest around 60 minutes after his biopsy and underwent surgery to repair his punctured artery but died the following day.
Following Aarav’s death, Birmingham Children’s Hospital reported no care delivery issues that could have contributed to his passing.
Aarav’s parents demanded an independent external clinical review, which was conducted by medics from King’s College Hospital in London and identified 34 shortfalls and 32 recommendations highlighting areas of sub-optimal care.
Following an inquest in January 2025, senior coroner Louise Hunt issued a prevention of future deaths report calling on Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust to set out what action it would take.
Kishore said: “Aarav was the most adorable little boy and despite everything he went through with his transplant was always smiling and happy. He brought sunshine to our lives, and the world is a much darker place without him.
“We hoped his transplant would be a new start in life for Aarav. It remains difficult to accept that he went into hospital for what we thought would be a relatively routine biopsy and never came home.
“One of the hardest things to accept is that following Aarav’s death, as parents we knew something had badly gone wrong, but the hospital trust tried to tell us otherwise.
“After our son’s death, we struggled to obtain even the most basic answers. The whole process was complex and overwhelming and when Birmingham Children’s Hospital eventually responded, we felt there was still no accountability from them.
“It was only when we pushed for an independent external review and endured the distress of an inquest that the circumstances finally began to become clearer. I cannot explain in words how it feels to be put in this situation as a bereaved parent.
“We’ll always feel upset at what happened. Our family will never be the same without Aarav, but we take some comfort from now at least having answers and ensuring that Birmingham Children’s Hospital says it will make changes to improve care for other children.
Amrita said: “I don’t think we’ll ever get over losing Aarav especially in the way we did. The last few years and how Aarav should be at home with us and causing mischief with his little brother has almost broken us. However, we had to keep going to honour his memory.
“By continuing to speak out all we can hope for now is that we help improve care for others as I wouldn’t want anyone else to face what our family has endured. We urge hospital trusts to also reflect on how they support and listen to grieving families.
“No parent should have to suffer the loss of a child but to then feel like you’re not being listened to when raising concerns just adds to the hurt and pain.”
Dr Satish Rao, Chief Medical Officer at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We offer our sincere condolences to Aarav’s family and loved ones.
"We know that the standard of care provided did not meet those expected and for this we are truly sorry and have admitted full liability.
“Following Aarav's death, changes were made to our processes to improve patient care and we are committed to sustaining these improvements in his memory."
