Mohinder Kaul Mahal died aged 85 at Royal Derby Hospital days after being given a Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine
17:39, 22 Jun 2026Updated 17:41, 22 Jun 2026
The inquest is being held at Leicester’s City Hall.(Image: Caitlin James)
An 85-year-old mother from Derby died days after being given a Covid vaccination she was not supposed to receive, an inquest has heard.
The five-day inquest into the death of Mohinder Kaur Mahal began on Monday, June 22, at Leicester City Hall following the family’s request to move it away from Derby and the initial coroner removing herself from the proceedings.
Mrs Mahal died on October 31, 2022, at Royal Derby Hospital, days after suffering a stroke in her home.
She had received a Pfizer Covid-19 vaccination, acting as a booster jab, days prior on October 19 and the inquest, led by senior coroner Professor Catherine Mason, heard that her health had been declining since that day.
The inquest heard evidence from Mrs Mahal’s four children, one of whom had been her primary caregiver.
Her son Baldev Mahal told the court he was visiting his mother around four times a day and would be in contact with her through phone calls twice a day.
She had already suffered a stroke in 2021 and had a number of health concerns including diabetes, but, in her son’s words, was “pretty mobile” and cautious to follow doctors’ orders as well as take her medication on time and check her blood pressure and blood sugar.
She was admitted to hospital for stomach pains on September 30, 2022, where gallbladder stones were discovered, and returned home two weeks later where she continued to be in full-time care by her son Baldev Mahal.
On October 19, 2022 she received a Covid-19 booster vaccination by Pfizer and a flu jab, administered by staff from Lister House Surgery in Derby.
Mr Mahal said his mother, who previously received an AstraZeneca jab, had been reluctant to take the vaccination but changed her mind after speaking with friends.
He said that he noticed a change in her condition soon after the booster dose was administered.
“Certain things started standing out shortly after, she had blurred vision, headaches, coordination issues,” he said.
“She suffered quite a big headache that afternoon, when the vision and the issues standing up appeared I thought she probably had a migraine as she had suffered them in the past.
“I told her to go to bed and sleep it off, I was reluctant to call an ambulance for blurred vision as she had just had vaccinations, they can knock you for six.”
Mr Mahal then said that on October 26, 2022, he had given her breakfast at around 10am and all appeared normal, but when he returned to check on her later in the day, he found her lying on the bed partway dressed, describing that her eyes and jaw appeared “locked”.
“She couldn’t speak and I could see from her eye movements that she was very agitated,” he added.
He then called an ambulance and she was taken to Royal Derby Hospital, where she was treated for stroke.
Dr James Scott, stroke consultant at Royal Derby Hospital, told the inquest she had been “unable to communicate using language” and had shown an irregular and increased heart rate of around 150bpm on the day of her hospital admission.
He explained that, following a number of checks, it was determined that her prognosis was poor, especially given her medical history, and noted that a framework which recognised her recovery was uncertain had been put in place a month prior.
Dr Scott added that it was “overwhelmingly likely” the stroke was from a previously established heart disease, and did not believe the vaccination played any part.
Following her death, Mr Mahal claims he was told by the lead GP for vaccinations at his mother’s doctors’ surgery, that systems showed she should not have received the Pfizer vaccine.
“There was no aftercare from the surgery post-vaccination, no observation following them recognising that there was a problem with the vaccination.
“It would have helped greatly to be contacted about booster options, but we did not receive a consultation, so I can say that informed consent was not gained.
“For my mum’s academic level, it could have been simply ‘This one isn’t for you’, but there was nothing at all, no explanation about the vaccines needed, we were only told to take paracetamol if there is pain afterwards.”
“It is not about the vaccine,” he added. “It is about how it is being admitted to mum with all her conditions.”
Dr Mahya Johnson, GP at Lister House Surgery, told the court that Mrs Mahal had been at increased risk of stroke due to a number of health conditions such as her previous stroke, diabetes and high blood pressure.
She described how the patient had suffered a stroke in January 2021 and was discharged on March 13 as she improved her independence and was able to carry out tasks such as brushing her hair again.
Shortly after she received her first AstraZeneca vaccine in late March 2021, Mrs Mahal was admitted to hospital again with a suspected stroke, but it was determined this initial diagnosis was not correct.
Dr Johnson described how Mrs Mahal was admitted to hospital and was visited by East Midlands Ambulance Service a number of times between 2021 and 2022, most of which followed concerns about limb weaknesses and high blood pressure.
“She had complex and long-standing health problems and her health was significantly compromised by those conditions,” she said.
Dr Johnson added that it felt “out of sort” that the practice and EMAS had not been contacted during the time in which Mrs Mahal’s health was declining between the booster jab and her suffering the stroke in 2022.
“If she was deteriorating post-vaccine, I would have expected medical assistance to be sought,” she said, adding later that this did not mean she believed Mrs Mahal had not been unwell.
The inquest continues on Tuesday, June 23, at Leicester City Hall.