A MAN died at Basildon Hospital after a junior doctor failed to spot he had a fractured skull and a bleed on the brain, an inquest heard.

Steven Ryan, 55, of Ardleigh, Lee Chapel North, fell while shopping in Pitsea in October 2010 and suffered a two-inch gash to the head.

Paramedics took the father-of-two to Basildon Hospital where doctors treated him by gluing the head wound. He was discharged a few hours later without an X-ray or CT scan.

The next day, Steven was taken back to the hospital, by which time he was in such a confused and agitated state doctors had to sedate him to carry out a scan. It revealed the true extent of his injuries.

But his heart stopped and he was pronounced dead.

An inquest in Chelmsford yesterday, heard the junior doctor treating him on the first day should have referred the case to a more senior practitioner for a second opinion.

Steven’s father Edward Ryan, 84, of Ryedene, Basildon, said: “It was a massive error of judgment to send him home.

“It was disgusting the way he was treated, and if a proper scan was just carried out this would never have happened. I have been making myself insane preparing for this inquest and we just wanted some closure.

“Steven was loved by everybody; he was a real family man.”

A hospital spokesman said the incident was now being used as a case study to educate future doctors to get a second opinion about head injuries. Mystery still surrounds what caused Mr Ryan to fall in the shop.

Coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray, who recored an open verdict, said: “I have considered manslaughter and accidental death. But there is insufficient evidence to come to either verdict as there were no eye witnesses to the incident. We will never know quite what happened.”

Speaking about the hospital’s actions, she said: “I’m pleased it carried out a full investigation and has taken measures to learn from what happened.”