A YOUNG man died from the effects of a brain cyst shortly after a York Hospital A & E doctor had diagnosed a migraine, an inquest heard.

Liam Ross, 27, visited the accident and emergency department early on January 19 last year, complaining of a severe headache and visual problems such as tunnel vision.

He told a junior doctor, GP Registrar Nathan De Barr, that his mother suffered from migraines and, after examining him, the doctor said he believed he had a migraine, and discharged him, telling to take analgesics and return to A & E or go to his GP if the symptoms worsened.

Liam was found dead the following day in his flat in nearby Wigginton Road, by a man who had come to service the premises. Liam's sister told the inquest she believed he had died in the hours after visiting A & E because he had suddenly stopped using the internet and phone and could not be called.

The inquest heard that there was no record of Dr De Barr performing a fundoscopy eye examination, which might have alerted him to the symptoms caused by the cyst.

The doctor said he honestly could not remember whether he had performed the examination, but added: "I would be surprised if I didn't do it."

He appeared to fight back tears as he said he continued to reflect on what had happened that day, and offered his deepest condolences to the family.

Dr Lucy Glanfield, a consultant in emergency medicine, said Liam's death was treated by the hospital as a 'serious untoward incident' and investigated to see whether lessons could be learnt to help prevent something similar happening again.

She said other doctors had been divided over whether they would have performed a fundoscopy if they were in a similar situation but a series of recommendations had been made and followed, including training for staff and a change which would increase the likelihood of a fundoscopy being carried out in such circumstances.

She said Liam's condition was very rare, and she had not come across it before in a career dating back to 1999.

The inquest heard that a post mortem examination had concluded Liam had suffered from a colloid cyst, which could have caused an obstruction leading to a build up of pressure in the brain.

Mr Leach concluded that Mr Ross died of natural causes.

A York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust spokesman told The Press it would like to offer its sincere sympathies to Mr Ross's family.

"Our staff have cooperated fully with the coroner’s investigation and we have conducted our own internal investigation," she said. "As a result, we have made improvements to our processes.”

Liam worked as a volunteer at The Hut, a charity which provides purposeful activities for people with mental health problems. A charity trustee, Lynne Dexter, paid tribute to him, saying: "He was a really lovely, caring lad. Everybody was devastated when it happened."