We are the family of a very special and beautiful young boy called Shay Martyn Turner who passed away suddenly in April 2018 aged just 5 years old are raising funds for legal representation at a 5 day inquest into his death.

Shay died suddenly on April 3rd at Sheffield children's hospital after falling ill four days earlier. He was initially treated at Rotherham General hospital before an emergency transfer took place. An investigation into the cause of his death is being carried out. We the family are hoping that the inquest will help shed light on the cause of Shays death as we continue to have questions and concerns about the treatment he received whilst at Rotherham General Hospital.

We are desperately seeking answers as to how our usually very fit and well, full of life and extremely beautiful little boy come to lose his life and how such mistakes were possibly made in his care, we also don't want another family to endure the pain and anguish that we have. Please contribute to our legal costs now and share this page with your friends, family and on social media.

Case Background

Shay was admitted to Rotherham hospital on the 30th March after suddenly feeling unwell in the afternoon with abdominal pain, vomiting. He was also unable to pass urine or make any bowel movements as well as being lethargic. He was treated for diabetic ketoacidosis which is a condition whereby the body does not produce enough insulin, which was treated with insulin. It was then found that an error had possibly been made in prescribing the insulin which lead to Shay being administered 10x the amount over a two hour period. Shay then deteriorated and became unresponsive developing abdominal compartment syndrome. Shay was in a critical condition and was later transferred to Sheffield children's hospital in the early hours of 1st April. Although he underwent emergency surgery which included a total colostomy and despite the efforts of doctors his organs began to fail and we were informed after a brain scan that he had suffered catastrophic brain injury and would not survive. 

After discussions with Shays treating team, we made the heartbreaking decision to withdraw life support. Shay sadly passed away at 11.24 am on the 3rd April 2018 in the arms of his heartbroken mummy and daddy. 

After Shay's death we were informed that Shay did not have diabetes and was likely to have been suffering from sepsis. We have a number of concerns and questions over the treatment shay received at Rotherham General hospital and whether there were any lost opportunities to have diagnosed and treated the sepsis. An interim Death certificate states cause of death as 1a multi-organ failure and 1b shock of unknown aetiology. An inquest into shays death is taking place in October 2019.

Following the death of Shay we his parents Martyn and Laura and his family felt it absolutely necessary to employ specialist inquest lawyers to support us through this process. The inquest process is very complicated which involving a complex web of laws, rules and procedures, with lots of documents to read. The NHS Trust has lawyers paid for either by insurers or with public money. We don't have access to such funding and that is why we are seeking the generosity of the public to help raise funds for representation. We don't begrudge other parties being legally represented, but this inquest is primarily about our Son and grandson. It would not be a level playing field if we went to court without having our own lawyers present to ensure that appropriate answers are provided to specific questions that we as parents and grandparents would want to ask.

How much we are raising and why? 

We are committed to ensure a full inquest into Shays death. We need to fully understand the events that led up to his death and where appropriate, ensuring that lessons are learnt so that this never happens again. To ensure that this happens, it is essential that all interested parties, including our family, have access to properly funded legal representation at the inquest. 

Initially, we are raising £5k but we then need to go on to raise £12k to fully fund this five day inquest. 

Please support our efforts to get answers. 

Love

Shay's family