A GRANDFATHER is planning to sue a North-East health authority because he claims doctors ruined his life when they mistakenly told him he only had three years to live in 1987.

Stockton man Bob Bates, 76, of Grangefield, said they gave him the terrible news when they got the diagnosis of his condition wrong.

He said his life was torn apart when medics told him he was suffering from a serious heart condition following a series of turns at his home.

The pensioner said he lost his home, was refused a mortgage, could not get life assurance or even go on holiday after he was given the news.

His nightmare began in 1985 when he was rushed to the University Hospital of North Tees while home on leave from his work in the Middle East, after suffering a suspected stroke.

He was sent home after being examined but over the following two years he was regularly readmitted before being told he was suffering from hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM).

The condition causes the thickening of heart muscles and restricts the flow of blood to the heart, which can cause sudden death.

Mr Bates and his wife, Ann, were told he may only have three years to live and it was not until 1998 that the misdiagnosis was revealed, after he was taken into hospital again.

He said doctors claimed they had written to him to inform him of their mistake. Medical notes from 1987 stated he had a mild variant of HOCM, but Mr Bates claims he was never told this.

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust has apologised for any distress caused but said it was not appropriate to comment further as the matter was now in the hands of its solicitors.

Mr and Mrs Bates say they were refused financial assistance from the Legal Aid Commission because advisors concluded that any compensation awarded would be less than the cost of bringing the claim before judges.

However, they are so angry about the mistake that they still plan to take hospital bosses to court privately.