THE family of a young father who killed himself by jumping from the roof of a multi-storey car park has received a settlement from the NHS trust which failed to assess him.

TJ Pimm, 30, from Dovercourt, jumped from the roof of the NCP car park in Osbourne Street, Colchester, on August 26, 2016.

His death came the day after he was refused a mental health assessment in Colchester Hospital’s accident and emergency department.

His family has received a five-figure settlement from Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust.

The trust accepted a crisis nurse was wrong to refuse to give TJ a full mental health assessment after she found out there was a warrant for his arrest.

Gazette: TJ with his sister, BekkiTJ with his sister, Bekki

Instead the nurse told TJ, who had a seven-year-old son, he should attend a police station for a mental health assessment.

The following day, after telling his probation officer he was going to the police station to hand himself in, he took his own life.

An inquest, held at Chelmsford Coroner’s Court in 2017, heard in the weeks prior to his death TJ was detained under the Mental Health Act after he threatened to kill himself at Romford train station.

He was taken to Goodmayes Hospital, in Ilford, on August 8, 2016, before being transferred to the Lakes mental health unit in Colchester.

TJ was assessed the next day by an approved mental health person and a psychiatrist who did not identify any mental health issues.

He was discharged after 12 hours.

TJ’s family took legal action against the Essex trust, claiming that the negligent refusal of care at Colchester General Hospital on August 25, 2016, when TJ was at risk of self-harm and suicide, led to him taking his own life.

Lawyers representing the trust reached a settlement with TJ’s family, represented by Leigh Day, accepting there had been a breach of duty.

A claim against North East London NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Lakes, was not accepted.

Following the settlement of the legal claim, TJ's mother Karon said: “The crisis nurse should have recognised TJ was in desperate need of help but instead it was decided the arrest warrant was more important than his dire state of mental health.”

Paul Scott, Chief Executive at Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We accept that the care provided by the former North Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust fell below the expected standard and our sympathies remain with Terence Pimm’s family and loved ones.

“We are committed to learning lessons and embedding them across our organisation to ensure we provide the best possible care.”