Overdose teen’s mother to sue GPs over ‘fatal prescription’
THE mother of a teenager who overdosed on antianxiety pills plans to sue the medical practice which prescribed them.
Britney Mazzoncini, 16, died last July after taking an overdose of medication prescribed by a trainee GP.
The General Medical Council investigation cleared the doctor of causing Britney’s death.
But the teenager’s mother, Annette McKenzie, has revealed she is now planning to sue – and has instructed lawyers to recover damages. Miss McKenzie, 35, said: ‘I owe it to her to do the right thing and seek justice. I have spoken to a lawyer and instructed him to seek ways of taking action. My partner and Britney’s dad, Raymond, feel we cannot let this rest.’
Britney sought medical help after being subjected to vile Facebook bullying. Her doctor prescribed powerful medication which she used to kill herself.
Miss McKenzie, of Hillington, Glasgow, complained to the GMC medical watchdog and the doctor was exonerated.
It ruled a tribunal ‘would be unlikely to find her fitness to practise is currently impaired’ and said the ‘case should be closed with no action’.
Crucially, it added it was clear she had offered to refer Britney to a specialist, but the offer was declined. The GP at the centre of the case argued it was not clear Britney was suffering from depression and that – as a 16year-old – she had full capacity to make her own decisions and there was no reason to suspect that capacity was impaired.
Britney was a pupil at Rosshall Academy in Glasgow, where her family said a small group of bullies set out to make her life misery. She had left school a few weeks before she died and was hoping to join the police when she turned 17.
Personal injury specialist solicitor Nick Gordon confirmed he is acting on behalf of Britney’s parents. Mr Gordon, a partner at law firm John Henderson And Sons, told a Sunday newspaper: ‘There is a reasonable basis to investigate the necessary expert opinion to pursue a claim for civil damages.
‘The steps I am being asked to pursue for the family involve the instruction of an independent opinion from an expert GP witness. They will provide an opinion as to where the treatment Britney received fell below the standard of the ordinary skill and care of the GP or any responsible party supervising this doctor.’
Miss McKenzie has raised a petition in the Scottish parliament to support her call for doctors to consult a trusted adult when prescribing powerful medication to people under 18. It is being investigated by Holyrood’s Petitions Committee.
The practice at the centre of the action refused to comment.