May 8th, 2009
The family of a man who died after being given too much diamorphine are taking legal action against the NHS and the doctor who was responsible for his death.
David Gray, 70, died after being injected with ten times the recommended dose of the painkiller by Dr Daniel Ubani in February 2008.
Dr Ubani was on his first shift in the UK, working for the out of hours service Take Care Now. He is now under investigation by the Care Quality Commission and is facing a possible manslaughter charge.
Mr Gray’s family is pursuing civil legal action against Dr Ubani, NHS Cambridgeshire and Take Care Now, claiming that the medic did not have suitable training and that the victim would still be alive had he been treated by someone with British medical training or a student nurse.
NHS Cambridgeshire has insisted Mr Gray’s death was an isolated incident.
Clinical negligence occurs when a professional in the health service provides care that is deemed to be below standard and this causes physical injury, death or distress.
Anyone affected should seek legal action as they may be eligible for compensation.
Tags: Cambridgeshire, Care Quality, Clinical Negligence, Damages, David Gray, Doctor Who, Dr Daniel, Family Man, Health Service, Injury Death, Manslaughter Charge, Medic, Medical Training, Mr Gray, Nhs, Painkiller, Quality Commission, Student Nurse
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April 29th, 2009
The parents of a teenager who died in hospital after being given drugs that were later described as inappropriate have been awarded damages by an NHS trust.
Alexander Newton, 18, had Duchenne muscular dystrophy and was being treated at the Royal United Hospital in Bath in 2005.
However, he was given the strong painkiller cocodamol and the sleeping drug Zopiclone and went on to suffer hallucinations and three respiratory arrests.
Alexander died after 16 days in hospital.
His parents Barrie Newton, 60, and Pamela, 58, took legal action against the Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust for clinical negligence after a coroner ruled that the drugs "took their toll" on their son’s health, although they did not kill him directly.
Although the NHS trust did not admit liability, it has agreed to a "considered sum of money" to compensate for the distress caused to Alexander before his death.
Zopiclone is a hypnotic sleeping drug and a side effect listed by RDS Alert is palpitations in some patients.
Tags: Alexander, Barrie, Clinical Negligence, Cocodamol, Coroner, Damages, Drugs, Hallucinations, Health, Muscular Dystrophy, Newton 18, Nhs Trust, Painkiller, Pamela, Parents, Royal Trust, Royal United Hospital, Sum Of Money, Teenager, Zopiclone
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