Hospital fails to spot injuries of runaway pensioner on mobility scooter

Margaret Cecere, a 67 year-old great grandmother, was left at the mercy of other motorists when the gearbox jammed, leaving her helpless and unable to stop.

She was forced to crash the vehicle into the side of the road, fracturing her hip and breaking her arm. But her family says a hospital then failed to diagnose the injuries and sent her home.

Relatives say medics told Mrs Cecere she had minor muscle injuries and discharged her. A different hospital later found she had suffered a fractured hip and a broken arm.

Mrs Cecere's daughter Karen Parkin, 31, said her mother used the mobility scooter after a stroke 16 years ago left her paralysed down one side.

She said her mother was travelling downhill on the scooter on Oak Tree Drive, Gipton, Leeds, when it jammed, forcing her to crash in an attempt to avoid being run over.

"It was terrifying for her," Mrs Parkin said. "Her scooter goes about 15mph, but downhill it was probably a lot faster."

Mrs Cecere was taken by ambulance to St James's Hospital, in Leeds, after the accident on April 26 and was reportedly discharged later the same day. But Mrs Parkin claims she found her mother in pain the following day and a GP sent her to Leeds General Infirmary, where it was discovered she had fractured her right hip and broken her arm.

"I thought she was going to die - she was in agony," Mrs Parkin said.

A spokesman for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We are sorry to hear that Mrs Cecere and her family are concerned about an aspect of her care.

"They have not yet spoken to us directly and we would ask them to contact us so we can look into this matter in more detail and answer any questions they have."