header-logo header-logo

04 March 2010 / Barbara Hewson
Issue: 7407 / Categories: Opinion , Health & safety , Professional negligence
printer mail-detail

A lamentable situation

The inquest into the death of David Gray, who died in February last year after a visiting locum GP, Dr Ubani, gave him a lethal overdose of Diamorphine, attracted national publicity. William Morris, the coroner for North and East Cambridgeshire, sat without a jury and did not mince words in his summing up last month.

According to expert evidence given to the coroner, Dr Ubani had administered a dose ten times higher than the appropriate dose for Mr Gray’s condition (renal colic). The coroner said: “It is clear to me that Dr Ubani in his dealings with patients over that fateful weekend was incompetent. And he went on: “How was it that a doctor, who did not obtain his qualifications in this country, whose first language was not English, who was probably fatigued, who had received a less than adequate induction...came to be treating patients in Cambridgeshire, and treating at least some of them incompetently? How was this lamentable situation reached?”

He found that Dr Ubani, who had flown into England for the first time only the day before, committed a “gross error.” He

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal expands Midlands residential development team

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn adds employee benefits and executive compensation practice in London with partner Richard Surtees

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL appoints new partner and head of intellectual property disputes

NEWS
A series of recent decisions has clarified important principles across property law, from perpetuities to lease renewals and public rights over land
Employers cannot rely on wellbeing services alone to defend workplace stress claims after a High Court decision awarding almost £1m to an overworked employee
Andy Burnham's brand of 'Manchesterism' could offer fresh thinking on legal aid and access to justice if it reaches Westminster, according to Roger Smith, NLJ columnist and former director of JUSTICE
The constitutional fallout from a change of prime minister, rather than the politics, is under scrutiny as questions arise over the limits of executive authority in a leadership transition
The legal profession is undergoing a fundamental shift from selling services to creating technology-enabled products, according to Professor Luke Mason, Head of School of Law at Regent's University London
back-to-top-scroll