Man who spent 23 years in coma due to medical negligence dies in Madrid

Antonio Meño, who spent 23 years in a coma due to medical negligence during a rhinoplasty operation, died at the weekend aged 44, it was revealed on Tuesday. Meño's family won damages last year after a 22-year legal battle with the Nuestra Señora de América clinic in Madrid.

After an initial court review of the case in 1993, anesthetist Francisco González was found guilty of negligence but the ruling was overturned by a higher court in 1998. In 2008, the Supreme Court turned down the family's appeal and ordered the Meños to pay 400,000 euros to González to cover his legal fees.

Faced with eviction, although the order was halted by their lawyer, the Meños, with Antonio, camped on the steps of the Justice Ministry in Madrid to seek redress for their son.

The case was turned on its head when Ignacio Frade, a trainee doctor in attendance during the procedure, came forward. Frade testified that González had left the room despite noting that a breathing tube had been dislodged. The clinic had always maintained that Meño choked on his own vomit after the procedure. The Supreme Court subsequently reversed its decision and quashed the previous rulings.

Last November the Meños accepted an out-of-court settlement of 1.075 million euros – the same amount awarded in the 1993 ruling.