A FATHER-of-ten who sued an ambulance service over the allegedly needless death of his wife and unborn baby has lost his battle for six-figure compensation.

Ahmed Shah Moied, from Southampton, claimed that his wife Addeba and daughter Fatima would still be alive if paramedics had rolled her into the recovery position after she fell down the stairs in 2006.

The businessman has lost £100,000 in taking his case to the High Court, where his lawyers asked for six-figure damages from South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

Giving judgement, Judge John Leighton Williams QC said the Moied family had suffered an “unavoidable misfortune” and rejected her husband’s claim.

He said: “Sadly, I conclude that unavoidable misfortune befell Mrs Moied and Fatima despite the best efforts of the medical staff who attended her.”

The court heard that 41-year-old Mrs Moied was in her 38th week of pregnancy and suffering hypertension when she fell ill after a family gathering at the couple’s home in Bassett, Southampton, in November 2006.

As her husband called for medical help, Mrs Moied tumbled down the stairs.

With Mrs Moied lying on her back with her jaw clamped shut, emergency services were called, but she was left in that position until she suffered a cardiac arrest after a second ambulance arrived.

She was rushed to Southampton General, where staff delivered her baby through Caesarian section, but life support for both mother and baby was withdrawn a few days later because both suffered brain damage due to lack of oxygen.

No inquest was held on the pair.

A post-mortem examination report said that the mother died from natural causes.

She had a history of severe hypertension and suffered heart failure and lack of oxygen to her brain.

Lawyers for Mr Moied, 70, insisted at the High Court that both could have survived if she had been rolled onto her side by the first 999 crew.

But experts for the ambulance service maintained that the crew acted correctly in keeping her on her back and attempting to clear her airway with a suction pump.

Judge Leighton Williams said that he understood why the first crew had been reluctant to move Mrs Moied, amid fears that her spine had been injured.

The ambulance man left with her faced the dual problems of a possible back injury and a blocked airway, and needed more help to move her safely, he said.

“I consider the first crew followed a practice which would be accepted as proper by a reasonable body of ambulance technicians and that they genuinely considered they were doing the right thing,” he said.

“It cannot be said that there was no logical support for what they did or did not do.”

Mr Moied was not in court to see his case rejected but told the Daily Echo he was “disappointed and upset” at the outcome.

He said: “It is very upsetting and the outcome is unfortunate.

It has been exhausting.

"I will speak to my solicitors and take advice for an appeal. I will fight if I can. I will have to wait and see.

“My wife was a warm person who loved her home and her family.

“She was looking forward to meeting our baby but never had the chance.”