Tragic Huddersfield student Jane Khalaf's life could have been saved

Thursday, 7 July 2016

Tragic Huddersfield student Jane Khalaf's life could have been saved

Inquest hears of lost opportunities in hospital

The life of a Huddersfield student who died in Germany after ingesting ecstasy could have been saved if she had received different treatment in hospital.

Now the the family of Jane Khalaf, who died in November 2014 while studying in Cologne, Germany have said they still have unanswered questions.

It remains unclear how the ecstasy got into her system.

The inquest at Bradford Coroners Court yesterday (July 6) heard that 19-year-old Jane wasadmitted to the St Marien Hospital in Cologne the early hours of November 12, 2014, after ingesting ecstasy where she was given a preliminary examination, but no blood test was taken.

Around four hours later Jane collapsed and fell into a coma. She was transferred to the Merheim hospital also in Cologne and placed on life support where she remained for eight days before she eventually died on November 20, 2014.

Coroner Martin Fleming concluded Jane died from a cerebral oedema caused by hyponatraemia, a rare complication of ecstasy use.

He added: “It is found more likely than not that there were several lost opportunities to monitor and treat her low sodium blood levels whilst at St Marien’s Hospital and that had she been treated it would have prevented her death.”

Jane was a former Shelley College student who was in her second year at Northumbria University studying politics when she died.

Her parents dad Khalil and mum Rojin own Huddersfield’s Med One restaurant.

The family has instructed specialist international personal injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to represent them at the inquest and to help investigate what happened to Jane over in Germany.