THE family of a cyclist killed in a road accident have vowed to continue to fight for justice after an inquest ruled a “catalogue of serious errors” by an ambulance service contributed to his death.

John Thompson, 69, fell off his bike whilst trying to avoid a cat in the road whilst cycling near the bottom of Reasty Bank Road in Harwood Dale, near Scarborough in June last year.

The father-of-two was taken to the Major Trauma Centre at Middlesbrough's James Cook University Hospital after suffering from serious chest and shoulder injuries, but he died later that day.

Last week, an inquest at Teesside Coroner's Court heard that Mr Thompson's "outcome" could have been different if it wasn't for the "failures in clinical care and decision making" and a "lack of situational awareness and team work" from the Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

His family have now confirmed they are pursuing a medical negligence claim against the Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust based on the delay in timely and appropriate medical treatment, which the inquest ruled "exacerbated" Mr Thompson’s death.

Mr Thompson's wife, Elaine, 65, said: “The hearing has been very difficult for the whole family, as it has been particularly hard to discover the issues that John faced in the final hours of his life.

“We all remain devastated by our loss but are now determined to continue with our legal battle to get justice regarding what happened to him and to ensure that lessons are learned and the problems that John faced do not ever happen again.”

The inquest also heard a damning internal report by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service also found paramedics and doctors had failed to identify quick enough that he had entered cardiac arrest, and there had been " no consideration" that he had a "head injury of significance"

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust said: “We would like to express our deepest sympathies to Mr Thompson’s family for their loss.

“Mr Thompson died of a traumatic subarachnoid haemorrhage sustained as a result of a bicycle accident.

“The incident has been fully investigated by the Trust, and learning has been identified and acted upon to improve future clinical care for patients sustaining serious traumatic injuries.”