Turan Hursit represented Lesley and Neal Davison in the second inquest into the death of their late daughter, Megan Davison.
Megan was a sufferer of ‘T1DE’ – type 1 diabetes and disordered eating – a condition typically affecting between 144,000 and 400,000 people in the UK. Megan also had a complex background of mental health issues and had historically been detained under section 2 of the Mental Health Act 1983. She tragically took her own life at the age of 27.
The case was initially heard at a first inquest in March 2018 at which it was concluded that the cause of Megan’s death was suicide. No prevention of future deaths report was made. The conclusions were reached following oral evidence from only one of Megan’s treating doctors and only limited documentary evidence. The family subsequently succeeded in an application pursuant to section 13 of the Coroners Act 1988 to quash the inquest and for a fresh investigation to be held. Turan Hursit was instructed to act for Megan’s family in the second inquest.
The Coroner heard from 23 live witnesses – including an expert witness – over the course of 9 days of evidence. Following the evidence, the Coroner issued a Prevention of Future Deaths report addressed to the Secretary of State for Health and the West Essex Integrated Care Board in which she highlighted that:
“On a national level there is not a system which is capable of being operated in a way which will ensure proper integrated healthcare for patients with T1DE. Specifically, there is no formal diagnosis for T1DE, no treatment pathway for T1DE and no complete treatment pathway for Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA), an acute clinical emergency associated with T1DE caused by deliberate omission of insulin, which should be seen as an act of self harm – there being a physical protocol, but no mental health protocol, for DKA.”
The Coroner also highlighted that “at a local level in East and North Hertfordshire there is no integrated healthcare system for patients with diabetes and eating disorder as there is in the west of the county” and that there was an absence of shared record systems between public and private providers of care.
The Coroner further accepted the submissions made on behalf of the family that there had been arguable engagement of the right to life under Article 2 ECHR on the basis of systemic dysfunctions existing in the treatment of T1DE within the NHS. It was concluded that there had been death by suicide in the context of a personality disorder and T1DE and that four issues had possibly made more than a minimal contribution to Megan’s death: (a) Megan’s discharge from the care of the Mental Health Trust with oversight of her treatment on 1st August 2017; (b) a lack of integration between mental health and physical healthcare systems; (c) the absence of a recognised diagnosis for T1DE and absence of pathways of care for T1DE and diabetic ketoacidosis; and (d) a lack of consolidated records and direct communication systems between different parts of the healthcare system.
Turan Hursit represented the Davison family in five pre-inquest review hearings between 2022 and 2024 and in the 9-day inquest that took place in July 2024. She was instructed by Oliver Carter, Katie Wilkins, and Cara Conlon of Irwin Mitchell Solicitors.
The case received coverage by BBC Radio Four, ITV, the British Medical Journal, INQUEST, and a number of local news outlets, including The Comet and the Hertfordshire Mercury.
Turan practises in clinical negligence, personal injury, the Court of Protection, inquests, public law, and human rights and has a particular interest in cases raising human rights issues in a medical context. She is ranked as a ‘Rising Star’ and ‘Up and Coming’ in the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners directories. For more details about Turan Hursit’s practice, please click here.
