A high-flying corporate finance director tragically died nine days after tripping and banging his head during a work call.
Cambridge-educated Clive Hyman, 64, told his colleague he had just hit his head on a set of marble steps but was ‘feeling fine’ and did not seek medical attention.
Mr Hyman, who made history as the youngest ever partner at KPMG, tragically died days later after complications from the head injury.
He was unaware that taking a medication he had previously been prescribed posed a risk to head traumas.
A coroner, supported by Mr Hyman’s devastated widow, has issued a warning to people who suffer head injuries, telling them they should immediately seek medical advice.
Corporate finance guru Mr Hyman enjoyed a long and successful career in the sector, having spent 20 years at KPMG – one of the ‘Big 4’ accounting firms – and then founded his own lucrative business consultancy firm Hyman Capital.
A keen gym-goer and cricket player, Mr Hyman, from London, was described as being ‘active and in good general health’.
On August 1, 2025, he tripped on the stairs while he was on a trip to Bucharest, Romania as he was making a work call, an inquest was told.
He ‘informed a colleague that he had hit his head and was feeling “fine”‘, the inquest heard.
Mr Hyman told his wife, Rachel, 52, that he had fallen on some marble steps but did not seek medical attention about the fall.
He had previously been prescribed apixaban following heart issues but neither him or his wife were aware that taking that medication presented a risk in relation to head traumas.
Apixaban is an anticoagulant medicine used to help prevent blood clots.
Mr Hyman flew home and continued to feel normal until 1pm on August 5, 2025, when he developed a sudden, serious headache and extremely high blood pressure.
After calling an ambulance, his wife was told that it was a ‘non-emergency.’
He took some paracetamol and went to bed but at around 3.45pm his wife heard him choking.
She found he had vomited and was unresponsive.
After another call was made to ambulance services, paramedics attended and took Mr Hyman to his local emergency department where he had a CT scan.
The scan revealed that he had a left-sided subdural haemorrhage.
He was given some medication before being transferred to the regional trauma centre for a craniectomy.
The surgery was unsuccessful and he was taken to the adult critical care unit.
After a few days he still had a decreased level of consciousness and further imaging showed he had an extensive stroke to the left hemisphere of his brain.
Neurosurgeons advised that the ‘prospects of any meaningful recovery were poor’ and he died in the early hours of August 10.
Mr Hyman attended the £31,000-a-year Haberdashers’ Boys school – which boasts alumni including Sacha Baron Cohen, Matt Lucas and Jason Isaacs.
From there he went on to study Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge before taking a job at KPMG.
In 1995, at age 34, he became KPMG’s youngest ever partner. At the global company he generated millions in revenue, even helping its USA partners ‘grow its private equity transactions services business from $3m to $110m over a three year period’.
He then founded Hyman Capital management consultants.
Alongside this, he was also chair of the East of England Young Enterprise scheme, played cricket for the Old Haberdashers Cricket Club and attended his local synagogue in London.
After meeting his wife Rachel in 2016, they married in 2021.
Mrs Hyman, 52, said: ‘Clive was a remarkable person. Clive should be alive as he was truly happy for the first time in his life.
‘He was remarkable. He got himself a scholarship to Cambridge and became at the time the youngest ever partner at KPMG – aged just 34.
‘His happy places were at Haberdashers and at Cambridge.
‘After the accident if I had known what could have happened I would have taken him to the hospital straight away.
‘He was more worried about the cuts and bruises on his legs. He had no concern about his head.
‘Obviously I have lost the love of my life. I am just so angry and sad for him. He had gone through so much and he was finally happy.
‘He was high achieving and he helped others when he didn’t have to. He really understood what was important in life.’
Mrs Hyman said she wants to raise ‘awareness’ so other families avoid head injury tragedies like this.
‘I am heartbroken without him, but I am also very determined that no other family has to go through this’, she said.
An inquest into his death at the Inner North London coroner’s court concluded that Mr Hyman’s death was due to an accident.
Sarah Bourke, assistant coroner for the area of Inner North London, confirmed the cause of death as traumatic subdural haemorrhage, atrial fibrillation and a coronary artery bypass graft.
Ms Bourke said people should always seek medical help after head injuries.
In the report, she said: ‘Public health literature and other non-medical sources of advice… should encourage people who have any concerns after a head injury… to seek immediate medical advice.
‘Remote advice services and community health services should refer people who have sustained a head injury to a hospital emergency department… if there are any of these risk factors.
‘Having reviewed several patient information leaflets issued with apixaban, it is evident that patients are routinely advised not to take the drug if they are “bleeding excessively”.
‘In addition, they are advised to seek medical advice if they are at “increased risk of bleeding”.
‘None of the patient information leaflets that I reviewed expressly addressed the steps to be taken by a patient if they sustain trauma to the head.’
The coroner sent her report to the Chair of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, the Chief Executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and the Chief Executive of Medicines UK – who have 56 days to respond.
