Coroner finds missed blood clot diagnosis caused death of London teacher Dena Collins

Dena Collins, a 28‑year‑old primary school teacher from south London, died on 12 January 2023 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Greenwich after being discharged the previous day. An inquest held at Inner South London Coroner’s Court concluded that she succumbed to a deep‑vein thrombosis and a pulmonary embolism that were not diagnosed or treated in time.

Collins had visited her GP three days before her death with leg pain and was reassured it was muscular. She later presented at the hospital with leg pain, fever and diarrhoea; a D‑dimer test indicated a possible clot, but she was diagnosed with a ruptured cyst and sent home for a scan. She collapsed at home the next morning, received CPR from her father, and died a few hours later. Assistant coroner Linda Jacobs stated that appropriate anticoagulant treatment would almost certainly have prevented the fatal cardiac arrest. Collins’s sister urged the public to trust their bodies and advocate for themselves when symptoms feel serious.