Wrong medicine kills new mother

February 6, 2008

A jury in Britain has returned a verdict of unlawful killing in the death of a woman who had just given birth at Great Western Hospital in Swindon.

The hospital and the Marlborough NHS Trust were found liable for a mix-up in an intravenous drip that caused Mayra Cabrera to suffer a fatal heart attack in 2004, The Times of London reported Wednesday.

"Mayra Cabrera was killed unlawfully-gross negligence/manslaughter-storage and administration," the verdict read.

The Times said it is believed to be the first finding against a National Health Service trust rather than a named person.

Cabrera, 30, was supposed to have a saline solution administered intravenously during her labor but instead received a powerful epidural anesthetic that should have been placed in her spine.

The hospital's method of storing and labeling drugs was called chaotic.

Following the verdict, Wiltshire police said they would reopen an investigation into Cabrera's death.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International


print this article email this article download pdf blog this article bookmark this article     Stumble it Digg this share on Facebook retweet share on Reddit add to delicious
Rate this story - 4 /5 (2 votes)


February 6, 2008 all stories

Comments: 0

4 /5 (2 votes)
  • Stumble this up

  • Digg this

  • share this

  • hide
  • Related Stories

  • Court rejects cap on cable market share -- again
    created Aug 28, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • Jury awards $675K in Boston music downloading case
    created Aug 01, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • Minimal damages sought in Mass. song-download case
    created Jul 31, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • Aus amateur tells of 'one in a million' Jupiter spot
    created Jul 22, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • Big fine could be big trouble in downloading case
    created Jun 19, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0



  • hide
  • Relevant PhysicsForums posts

Other News

Multitasking may be Achilles heel for hepatitis C

Medicine & Health / Research

created 9 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Hepatitis C, a formidable virus that affects 130 million people worldwide, is nursing some pretty impressive bruises. By knocking out sections and subsections of one of its proteins, scientists reveal weak ...


Gene therapy improves vision

Gene therapy improves vision

Medicine & Health / Research

created 10 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

German scientist Paul Ehrlich found what he coined the "magic bullet" in the early 20th century upon developing the world’s first effective treatment of syphilis.


Tissue tension regulates tumor progression

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created 10 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- UCSF scientists have shown for the first time that the rigidity of a tissue can induce cancer. The research team identified an enzyme that is crucial for regulating tissue stiffness and demonstrated that ...


Measured -- The time it takes us to find the words we need

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created 12 hours ago | popularity 3.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The time it takes for our brains to search for and retrieve the word we want to say has been measured for the first time. The discovery is reported in a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Ac ...


Multiple health concerns surface as winter, vitamin D deficiences arrive

Medicine & Health / Health

created 15 hours ago | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 2

A string of recent discoveries about the multiple health benefits of vitamin D has renewed interest in this multi-purpose nutrient, increased awareness of the huge numbers of people who are deficient in it, spurred research ...