3-Year-Old Dies After Trainee Pierces Artery Following Routine Medical Procedure

What should have been a routine medical procedure turned into every parent’s worst nightmare.

When 3-year-old Aarav Chopra was taken to Birmingham Children’s Hospital for a liver biopsy, his parents believed he was in the safest possible hands. Instead, they say they walked into a tragedy that changed their lives forever.

According to findings later outlined in an official prevention of future deaths report, a trainee performing the procedure reportedly pierced an artery during the biopsy. That mistake caused severe internal bleeding.

The report said the first attempt at the liver biopsy was carried out by a trainee who inserted a needle into the wrong area. The needle could not be seen properly on imaging and was withdrawn, but the damage had already been done. An intercostal artery had reportedly been injured, causing Aarav to bleed into the space between his lung and chest wall.

That condition, known as a haemothorax, quickly became life-threatening.

What makes the case even more devastating is that the bleeding was not fully recognized in time. According to the report, incomplete operation notes later hindered Aarav’s treatment. By the time doctors discovered the large buildup of fluid, it was too late to drain it with a chest tube.

Aarav later suffered a prolonged cardiac arrest and a hypoxic brain injury, meaning his brain was deprived of oxygen.

He died a in November 2023.

The report made the consequences painfully clear, stating that if the haemothorax had been identified and treated at the time of the procedure, Aarav likely would have been monitored and treated before going into cardiac arrest.

Now, nearly three years later, the hospital’s NHS trust has formally admitted responsibility.

Dr. Satish Rao, chief medical officer at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Trust, offered condolences to Aarav’s family and acknowledged that the standard of care fell below what was expected. He said the trust had admitted full liability and made changes to its processes after the child’s death in an effort to improve patient care.

But for Aarav’s family, no apology can undo what happened.

His mother, Amrita Chopra, spoke openly about the devastation, saying the pain has torn their family apart. She said they had trusted the hospital because they believed it was the best place for Aarav’s care, only to feel that the very people meant to help him had instead taken his life.

She also made it clear that her family does not want any other parents to endure the same kind of heartbreak.

The family has reportedly settled a legal claim against the hospital, though the terms have not been made public.