GP pays out for death of teacher he had failed to spot had diabetes

Music teacher Adam Bell, 34, had shown the classic symptoms of the condition, including thirst, tiredness and weight loss.

He was also hallucinating, hyperventilating and vomiting repeatedly.

Despite these tell-tale signs, his GP failed to do a simple blood or urine test and instead diagnosed him with a viral infection.

Forty-eight hours later, Mr Bell collapsed and died alone at home.

Dr Paul Davis made an out-of-court settlement to Mr Bell's girlfriend of five years, Helen Rowe, 43, who was on holiday at the time of the tragedy in May 2005.

Miss Rowe launched a civil claim for negligence against Dr Davis, and received an undisclosed amount in compensation - believed to be around £50,000. However, Dr Davis made no admission of liability.

A spokesman for the GP, who still practises in Bushey, Watford, said he "felt terrible" about the incident.

He added: "Were it possible for him to have the time again, knowing what he knows now, he would do things differently."

Growing up in Liverpool, Adam Bell played the organ at the city's cathedral and amazed friends with his ability to memorise and play any piece of music after hearing it just once.

An accomplished pianist, guitarist and composer, he attended London's Guildhall School of Music.

At the time of his death, he was teaching music at a specialist school in Watford.

He met Miss Rowe, a market researcher, when she took piano lessons there.

She said: "Adam should, without any doubt, have been diagnosed as having diabetes. I am sure Dr Davis is a very intelligent man but there were several commonsense signs he failed to take into account.

"The fact that Adam had always previously been healthy and had never been to see him should have sounded alarm bells.

"It should have been obvious Adam was seriously unwell because he could not walk two minutes to the surgery and had to call the doctor out."

Diabetes is a chronic condition in which lack of insulin - the hormone for getting energy from food - impairs the body's ability to use food properly.

Mr Bell suffered from Type 1 of the condition, which accounts for just 10 per cent of cases. Sufferers need regular injections of insulin.

Miss Rowe said she would donate the money to the charity she created in Adam's name to raise awareness of the condition.