Schoolgirl dies after taking grandmother's tramadol which she mistook for ibuprofen, police say

Coroner concludes girl took 'very high' amount of opioid painkiller when feeling ill

Tramadol is a painkiller used to treat moderate to severe pain and can be deadly in very high doses (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A 12-year-old girl died at her grandmother’s house after taking a “very high” amount of the opioid painkiller tramadol left on a coffee table, an inquest has heard.

Police concluded that Kaitlin Clegg had taken the tramadol because she mistook it for ibuprofen and paracetamol after leaving school early because she was feeling ill.

Kaitlin died in her sleep at her grandmother Margaret Crook’s house, Burnley Coroner’s Court heard.

Ms Crook, the girl’s father Jason Clegg and her mother Kelly Canovan had all been taking tramadol and it was initially unclear when she had ingested the painkiller.

However, a police investigation found, on the balance of probabilities, that she had taken her grandmother’s tramadol which was left on a coffee table with other medication prescribed by a doctor for Kaitlin.

Coroner Richard Taylor said: “Whilst in pain she took the medication hoping it would do her some good. Tragically it did not.”

The girl’s parents consoled Ms Crook after being given the verdict.

Paediatric pathologist Melanie Newbould, who conducted the post-mortem examination, said her death was caused by the drug.

She said: “In most cases of child deaths at Kaitlin’s age we would look at sepsis and viral infections such as meningitis.

“However, there was no evidence of any of these. There were no signs of any underlying serious disease.”

However, toxicology tests produced a positive result with evidence of ibuprofen, paracetamol and a “very high concentration” of tramadol.

“Although we have to carefully interpret post-mortem results, which can produce high levels, in Kaitlin’s case it was very very high indeed.

“It is impossible to tell how many pills she had taken or over what period.”

Mr Taylor heard how Kaitlin had not been enjoying good health in the months leading up to her death and suffered from appendicitis and asthma.

She had also been complaining of pains in her arms, legs and shoulders.

Her father told the inquest his daughter had spent the night at his house on the Saturday before her death and had seemed fine.

He said she knew tramadol was used to treat pain and added it was possible she had taken them from his house but he did not know.

Kaitlin’s mother also told the hearing how she had been prescribed tramadol but was “99 per cent sure [Kaitlin] would not have had the opportunity” to take them from her house.

Mr Taylor said he had read text messages sent between Ms Crooks and Ms Canovan which were clearly “loving, caring and concerned messages about Kaitlin, but also a question over whether she may have taken tramadol”.

Ms Canovan said: “I think if Kaitlin was in pain, knowing what all three of us take it for, then yes she would have taken it.”

Detective Inspector Paul Barlow, from Burnley CID, said: “Theoretically, the tramadol could have been taken from all three relatives, but as she was under the care of her grandma at the time, and it was left on a coffee table within easy reach, then it made some sense to me that it was taken there.”

Recording a conclusion of misadventure, the coroner said that Kaitlin had taken the tramadol deliberately when in distress and pain without knowing how it would affect her.

Additional reporting by SWNS