-
Top legal firm says it is continuing to probe the actress’ death in March last year
-
Coroner heard she had undergone two procedures involving opening her chest
-
READ MORE: How Warwick Davis left viewers sobbing with tearful BAFTA tribute
Lawyers acting for
Warwick Davis
are continuing to investigate whether his wife may have died as a result of alleged medical negligence at an
NHS
hospital in London following the conclusion of an inquest into her death.
A firm acting for the Hollywood star says it is continuing to probe the death of Samantha Davis, who died aged 53 in March last year following surgery to treat compression on her spine at University College Hospital in London.
Yesterday, a coroner ruled the actress had died of arrhythmic cardiac arrest following complications of essential surgical treatment and from the effects of achondroplasia – a bone growth disorder which results in dwarfism.
Mrs Davis had been admitted to UCH weeks before following loss of mobility in her lower limbs after a disc prolapse, and had undergone two thoracotomies – where the chest wall is opened – on February 20 and March 14.
Her prognosis had been positive and there were plans to discharge her – but she went into cardiac arrest at 11.25pm on March 23, and was pronounced dead at 12.28am on March 24 following attempts to resuscitate her.
An autopsy concluded she had died of complications from a left hemothorax – where blood collects in the area between the lungs and the chest wall – following surgery.
Pathologists told Mrs Davis’ inquest that he saw no evidence of the bleeding being caused by the removal of a surgical drain after surgery.
Her family said she had suffered a ‘similar episode’ after having a drain removed following a previous operation, and had raised concerns about an ‘intense’ physiotherapy session hours before she died.
Earlier this year, MailOnline revealed that Davis had instructed lawyers at top firm Irwin Mitchell to represent his family and is working with them to investigate the circumstances of her death.
Today, Irwin Mitchell confirmed that investigations into her death remain ‘ongoing’, but could not comment further. Agents for Warwick Davis declined to comment.
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which manages UCH and five other hospitals in central London, was contacted for comment.
Yesterday, senior coroner Professor Fiona Wilcox ruled Mrs Davis died of ‘arrhythmic cardiac arrest and complications following left thoracotomies’.
She explained that Mrs Davis had achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, which was ‘complicated by very severe spinal problems’ and had required multiple surgeries since 2016.
She also praised the care given by hospital staff, telling the court, the hospital delivered ‘nothing but excellent care’ and all of Mrs Davis’s ‘complications were appropriately managed’.
David Lawrence, a cardiothoracic surgeon at University College London Hospitals, said Samantha’s recovery had been going well and that she had stable readings.
He told the inquest: ‘Very sadly, on the night this happened, the original plan had been that she would be discharged home the following day.
‘We had good evidence that this patient had a chest x-ray that was acceptable, very stable observations and this patient did not bleed during the day.’
During her stay, two surgical chest drains had been removed — the second of which came out on the very same day she died.
Senior Coroner for Inner West
London
, Prof Wilcox, said: ‘I am satisfied that the medical cause of death should be arrhythmic cardiac arrest and complications following left thoracotomies.
‘In my view, the stress of everything together has precipitated this arrhythmic cardiac arrest in a lady who was not known to have any previous arrhythmia problems.’
The coroner added: ‘I have found nothing but excellent care being delivered to this lady and all of her complications were appropriately managed.
‘It is frankly heartbreaking that the surgery itself was successful only for complications to arise and to cause her death.’
Mr Davis dedicated his
Bafta
film fellowship award to his late wife during an emotional tribute at the ceremony in February.
The couple met during the filming of 1988 fantasy movie Willow, in which he had a starring role as the hero Willow Ufgood. They married in 1991 and have two children.
They also had a third child, however he tragically died nine days after being born.
The family have instructed lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to support them through the inquest.
In a statement released through their solicitors ahead of the hearing, the family said: ‘We know that the resilience and strength Sammy instilled in all of us will guide us through this difficult next chapter.
‘Her love, support, and determination is a legacy we want to continue. Sammy’s Helping Hands fund, which was set up in her honour, has already had a huge impact on young people in the dwarfism community, and will continue to support families all over the UK moving forwards.
‘The last year and trying to come to terms with Samantha’s death has been incredibly difficult.
‘However, we hope that the inquest will at last provide us with answers.
‘We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their kindness and well-wishes to us all.’
In February, Davis
dedicated his Bafta film fellowship award to his late wife with an emotional tribute.
He said ‘life has been pretty tough’ since she died, and ‘she was always so supportive of my career, encouraging me to grab every opportunity with both hands’.
He added: ‘Thanks to the support of our wonderful children I’ve been able to continue working and engaging in life.’
Warwick Davis rose to fame as an 11-year-old after being cast as an Ewok in Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi.
He reprised the role Willow Ufgood in a 2022 Disney+ series.
Together with Samantha, he co-founded Little People UK in 2012 to help individuals with dwarfism and their families.
The pair also starred together in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2, where Samantha played a goblin.
He played Professor Flitwick in all eight films in the Harry Potter franchise and also portrayed the Gringotts Wizarding Bank goblin Griphook.
He described Sammy, as he called her, as his ‘most trusted confidant and an ardent supporter of everything I did in my career’.
He added: ‘She was a unique character, always seeing the sunny side of life. She had a wicked sense of humour and always laughed at my bad jokes.’
The couple’s children, Harrison and Annabelle, said ‘her love and happiness carried us through our whole lives’.
‘Mum is our best friend and we’re honoured to have received a love like hers,’ they added.
Samantha was diagnosed with achondroplasia, a bone growth disorder that causes dwarfism, as a child.
Her husband is affected by a similar condition, spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita. It meant he never grew taller than 3ft 6in.
After Samantha’s death, Warwick said he felt like he could achieve anything with his wife by his side and that it felt like he had a ‘superpower’.
Read more