the doctor found there was no saline solution in the equipment .
the doctor then unknowingly used the cleaning solution to wash - out william ’s lung , ” the hannah family lawyers said in a press release shared with people .
william hannah , 68 , was taken to salford royal hospital in sept. 2017 after he was hit by a car .
the exact cause of hannah developed a lung infection , and his doctor decided to do a saline flush , a common treatment to clear out the sick lung .
but according to lawyers for hannah ’s family , which is now suing the hospital , the doctor ’s assistant accidentally grabbed cleaning detergent instead of saline .
he was being treated at salford royal hospital after being hit by a car .
mr hannah 's family have instructed lawyers ahead of an inquest into his death at bolton coroner 's court in february .
he tried to get as much of the detergent out of hannah ’s lungs as possible , but according to the lawyers his condition worsened from there , and he died the next day .
image copyright salford royal nhs foundation trust , image caption due to a communication error lancer neutral detergent solution ( middle ) was used instead of the usual endozime aw ( left ) when a doctor tried to improve his breathing he was mistakenly handed a bottle containing detergent mixture to wash out mr hannah was moved to the critical care unit and placed on a ventilator .