A woman died after a car crash from a condition usually associated with passengers on long-haul aircraft flights, an inquest heard.

Marjorie Aitken died of deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), a condition in which a blood clot cuts off circulation in a part of the body, on January 5, this year.

An inquest at Oxford was told yesterday that the condition had received publicity because it can develop on long aircraft flights when passengers do not exercise their legs.

Mrs Aitken, 61, of Manor Road, Towersey, near Thame, suffered great pain after the accident and had been bed-ridden for several days.

She collapsed after getting out of bed and making her way to the bathroom.

Dr David Davies, consultant pathologist at the John Radcliffe Hospital, said Mrs Aitken suffered a fractured breastbone and a fractured neck vertebrae. However, these were not fatal injuries.

He said she suffered DVT because she had not been particularly mobile in the days following the accident.

Mrs Aitken and her husband, Euan, were involved in an eight-car accident in Warwickshire, on the northbound junction of the M40 on December 27, last year, at Tanworth-in-Arden. They were travelling up to see their daughter in Nottinghamshire.

PC Timothy Thorpe said it was impossible to apportion blame for the accident, because of the differing accounts of all the drivers involved.

Mr Aitken told the inquest he was approaching the congested junction of the M40 and the M42 when cars in front of him braked heavily.

He managed to avoid crashing into the car in front but a car behind hit the back of his Renault Espace. The Espace was shoved into the car in front.

His wife was trapped and had to be pulled out through a rear door of the car by the emergency services.

He said he and his wife were given no advice about the dangers of deep-vein thrombosis when they attended accident and emergency at the Alexandra Hospital, Redditch.

Deputy Oxfordshire coroner Dorothy Flood said there should be a leaflet about the condition made available to patients attending accident and emergency.

She recorded a verdict that Mrs Aitken died as a result of an accident.