August 10th, 2009
The pharmacy department of a Burton supermarket has been criticised after an elderly woman became the victim of two prescription errors.
Maria Madera, 81, always collected her Minim eye drops from her local Asda but on the first occasion, she was wrongly given Atropine, a different kind of medication, the Burton Mail reports.
She put the drops in and was temporarily blinded. Her granddaughter Krystine Strama-Rolfe said that she now suffers from depression and is reluctant to leave the house.
Asda then made the same error again a short time later, but Ms Madera’s family noticed and she did not put the drops in.
The supermarket apologised unreservedly for the mistakes and offered the victim £1,500 in compensation, but she has rejected the offer until it is increased to £3,000.
Atropine is a drug obtained from plant extracts that is administered to relax muscles by inhibiting nerve responses, whereas Minims are simply used to reduce dryness on the surface of the eye, Medterms.com attests.
Tags: Asda, Atropine, Blunders, Burton Mail, Criticised, Elderly Woman, Eye Drops, Eye Prescription, First Occasion, Granddaughter, Madera, Mail Reports, Nerve, Pharmacy Department, Plant Extracts, Prescription Errors, Short Time, Strama, Supermarket
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
February 12th, 2009
The widow of a man who died after being exposed to asbestos has secured a payout of £700,000 after it was ruled that her late husband’s employer was responsible.
Susan Smith launched legal action against the Co-Op in Leicester, where Michael Victor Smith had worked as a foreman, the Burton Mail reports.
She claimed that Mr Smith’s work on ceiling tiles had led to him breathing in asbestos dust, eventually culminating in his death from mesothelioma in 2004.
Judge Oliver-Jones QC ruled that the employer was negligent in that it did not protect Mr Smith from the dangers of exposure and agreed to the compensation.
In related news, Gordon Brown announced this week that there will be an announcement "very soon" regarding compensation and pleural plaques.
Pleural plaques are damage to the inside of the lung and they can lead to mesothelioma. It has been argued that sufferers should have better access to compensation.
Tags: Asbestos Dust, Burton Mail, Ceiling Tiles, Gordon Brown, Lead, Led, Leicester, Lung Cancer, Lung Cancer Victim, Mail Reports, Mesothelioma, Mr Smith, Oliver Jones, Pleural Plaques, Related News, Susan Smith, Victor Smith
Posted in Personal Injury News | No Comments »
