Rebecca Jeffs, 31, from Crawley, West Sussex, accidentally killed herself when she overdosed on paracetamol to relieve the pain from a severe earache.
She ingested more than twice the recommended dosage over 24 hours after complaining of severe pain in her right ear. She was rushed to the Royal Bolton Hospital and was discharged on Oct. 7 last year after the doctors ruled that she had recovered.
Rebecca had a history of abdominal pains and insomnia so the doctors prescribed her with the sleeping pill Zopliclone. Dr. Arun Ramachandran from the hospital's Ear, Nose and Throat unit also prescribed her antibiotics after seeing that she had an ear infection. He explained to the former care worker that ibuprofen and paracetamol wouldn't work on her.
Her mother, Elizabeth Carter, admitted during the investigation that she knew that her daughter was also taking 30 to 50 sleeping pills per day that she ordered online, according to Mirror UK.
"She had been living with someone who was giving her medication, buying it on the internet," Mrs. Carter told the Bolton hearing. "Then when she moved up here and she didn't have access to the internet. I used to give her one a night. She had just got her life back on track."
But two days after being discharged from the hospital, Rebecca was found dead at her partner's home. Pathologist Dr. Patrick Waugh said that her lungs were severely damaged and her liver was also congested, Express UK reported.
Coroner Simon Jones gave a verdict of misadventure for Rebecca's case, clearing the hospital of possible neglect.
"I'm satisfied she had an ear infection, had taken an overdose of paracetamol and taken to hospital, they had to treat that and stop the damage and deal with the ear infection...Problems have developed after discharge."
