A mum given an overdose of paracetamol while being treated for sickness and pneumonia died two weeks later.
Laura Higginson, from Widnes, Cheshire, was admitted to hospital in April 2017 while weighing only five-and-a-half stone. Two weeks later, the 30-year-old died from multiple organ failure, sepsis, and Gitelman's syndrome.
Despite this, the Crown Prosecution Service found that the overdose did not contribute to her death. However, her husband, Antony Higginson, claims that he wasn't made aware of the fact she received too much paracetamol in the hospital prior to her death, Cheshire Live reports
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While Antony, 47, had hoped that the CPS would charge staff at hospital for providing a wrong dosage, nothing was brought against them with claims that the overdose did not contribute to her death. Now, Anthony says his family are stuck on a "merry-go-round of blame" five years after her death.
"We feel that we have been gaslighted. Justice is not fair, it’s unaffordable, unachievable, unaccountable and corrupt," Antony said.
"What we have is a merry-go-round of blame and in the middle is us, the bereaved. I’m missing my wife, Laura’s parents are missing their daughter, and my children are missing their mum all because these organisations are pointing the finger at each other.
"They rendered her life insignificant when she mattered the world to me, her mum and dad, and her children. We are broken, despairing – we are angry beyond compare."
Laura died in hospital on April 19, 2017, after she said she received a high dose of paracetamol meant for a heavier woman. Previously, the hospital had administered the wrong dose but denied that it had caused or contributed to her death, according to reports.
The mum had only weighed 36kg when she was admitted to hospital on April 5, 2017. Because of her light weight, she should only have been given around 500mg of paracetamol, it's claimed. But, she received a dose equivalent to a gram at a time over a two-day period, documents show.
Antony claims Laura's family were only made aware of the overdose after they received a copy of the post-mortem from her GP months after her death. He added: "The CPS not charging doesn’t surprise me – if they charged twelve people with manslaughter, no one would ever walk in a hospital again.
"If they hadn’t done that, she would be alive now."
A spokesperson for the CPS said: "Our thoughts remain with the family of Laura Higginson.
“Having carefully considered all the available evidence in the case, we concluded that no charges could be brought against the hospital trust. A further review by an independent lawyer, brought under the Victims’ Right to Review Scheme, has upheld this decision.
"We understand this is not the outcome the family were hoping for and have written to explain our decision in detail."
Whiston Hospital said: "The Trust offers its sincere condolences to the family of the late Mrs Higginson. From the outset, the Trust cooperated fully with the investigation and subsequent review of the case."
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