The death of a young mother following ‘staggered overdoses’ of paracetamol given while in hospital was not caused by the excess medication, a coroner concluded.
Laura Higginson, 30, died after ten days in a medically induced coma at Whiston Hospital, Prescot on Merseyside in 2017.
Her husband Antony only found out that the Cambridge-educated trainee solicitor had been given the intravenous doses when he was shown a copy of the post mortem report months after her death.
Earlier this month the former soldier told an inquest she had suffered ‘astonishing neglect’.
However a coroner today concluded that based on evidence presented to the hearing, the effects of the paracetamol ‘could not have had a minimum contributory part to play in Laura’s passing’.
Simon Holden gave a narrative conclusion saying he rejected the family’s submission that ‘neglect’ was a factor.
But he said would be contacting the Care Quality Commission about the hospital’s failure to exercise its ‘duty of candour’ by revealing that Mrs Higginson had been overdosed.
Dr Higginson, now a technical architect with a software company, wept earlier this month as he told the hearing how he took the couple’s two children Stephen and Evie – aged nine and seven at the time – to say goodbye to their mother.
Mother-of-two Laura Higginson, pictured with her daughter Evelyn, died after NHS hospital staff overdosed her on paracetamol
Widower Dr Antony Higginson (right), 48, only found out about the doses of paracetamol three months after her death
She had been admitted after her weight dropped to 6st due to a rare condition called Gitelman Syndrome which caused an inability to retain potassium and magnesium.
But he claimed doctors had dismissed it as anorexia or bulimia, with one allegedly saying: ‘Let’s give her some painkillers and get her out.’
‘She felt like she was a burden and it started to affect her mental state,’ Mr Higginson told the hearing at Bootle Town Hall.
By April 7, she was coughing up blood and had a swollen stomach ‘like she was pregnant.’
By April 8, doctors suspected sepsis and kidney failure, and she became delirious, with her husband agreeing that she should be sedated.
He said he knew that she was dying when he drove their children to the hospital on April 19 ‘to say goodbye to their mum.’
‘Evie went to the side of the bed and tried to get hold of her hand and was stroking her face. It was traumatic.’
She died three hours later.
Laura Higginson (right) with her son Stephen and daughter Evelyn, then aged nine and seven
Antony, Laura and their son Stephen pictured on the couple’s wedding day
The inquest heard that doses of paracetamol were given on three consecutive days above the recommended limit for her weight.
A nurse said she reviewed the dose on the third day and halved it, with Mrs Higginson treated with an antidote.
Liver expert Dr Charles Millson had told the inquest that a paracetamol-induced toxic liver injury had ‘made a substantial contribution towards her death’.
But Prof Nick Bateman, a professor of clinical toxicology, gave evidence that she would have recovered from the acute toxic effects within a few days.
The coroner said there was no sound basis on which he could reject Prof Bateman’s evidence.
He said Mrs Higginson had longstanding but undiagnosed liver disease prior to her admission and she died from multiple organ failure due to sepsis.
Mr Holden recorded the cause of death as multiple organ failure, micronodular cirrhosis of the liver and sepsis.
He said he was satisfied that Whiston Hospital had introduced safeguards to prevent a similar incident taking place.
Dr Higginson left the hearing without commenting.
Laura died after ten days in a medically induced coma at Whiston Hospital, Prescot on Merseyside
But Victoria Beel, of law firm Slater and Gordon, who represent the family, said: ‘We are obviously disappointed by the outcome today.’
However she said a civil claim against the NHS trust which runs Whiston Hospital would continue, with input from additional experts.
Afterwards Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust offered its ‘sincere condolences’ to the family and said it was ‘fully committed to learning all the lessons we can’.
‘The trust has always accepted that Mrs Higginson received a dose of paracetamol which was not appropriate for her bodyweight and once this was identified the relevant antidote was administered,’ a spokesman said.
‘We instigated a full and thorough investigation informed by independent medical experts who concluded that any effect of the paracetamol dose was transient and did not contribute to Mrs Higginson’s death, a fact that the inquest has accepted.’
