Grandfather dies after Asda pharmacy issues wrong medication

An elderly man sadly passed away after being given the wrong pill box by a supermarket pharmacist. 

Michael James McMahon visited the Asda Superstore at Parkhead Forge in Glasgow to collect his routine prescription. 

The father-of-three and grandfather-of-five often received medication in a dosette box – a container with multiple compartments which holds different pills for a set period of time. 

But on this occasion when Mr McMahon visited the pharmacy he was given a box meant for someone else.

The 73-year-old from Parkhead was unaware of the error and consumed the pills as per the instructions – he was sadly found dead at home five days later. 

Mr McMahon’s son said: “He had faith in the pharmacy after years of collecting his prescriptions there. This should simply not have happened.”

The tragic mix-up of the pill boxes happened on 20 February 2023.

Retired Mr McMahon needed ongoing medication as he suffered from multiple conditions which included problems with his kidneys – he was also undergoing dialysis. 

His routine meds included pizotifen, cinacalcet, atenolol and paracetamol.

However Asda pharmacy counter staff instead handed over a box which contained metformin, amitriptyline and omeprazole.

After Mr McMahon returned home and ingested the pills it created a lethal mix which proved fatal.

The devoted family man was discovered at home five days later on 25 February by his son after the hospital raised the alarm when Mr McMahon failed to attend a dialysis appointment. 

His son added: “I went straight to Dad’s house and found him there. The paramedics turned up and did all they could but it was too late. 

“I was devastated. We knew he took medications so we checked the dosette box.

“When we spotted it had a different name and different pills we were stunned.

“There was confusion, shock, anger, sadness… every emotion you can think all hitting you at the same time.

“Collecting prescriptions is a task people do every day. They even ask for your name and address when collecting so how did this happen?  

“This should not cost you your life.”

A postmortem, while acknowledging underlying health conditions, stated that metformin toxicity contributed to Mr McMahon’s death – one of the three incorrect medications in the wrongfully issued pill box.

His son desperately needed answers as to how this happened. He knew that meant he’d need a reliable solicitor and that’s when he came to Digby Brown. 

After visiting the firm’s Glasgow office he met with Craig Smillie, Partner and expert in fatal accident claims.

One of the key things Craig did was gather multiple pieces of vital medical evidence such as the postmortem report and toxicology report – this helped show the link between the pills and Mr McMahon’s passing. The next key aspect was proving he had the pills because something went wrong at Asda.

Joy Bell, Senior Associate at Digby Brown, also helped gather key information from family members.

A claim for McMahon’s death was sent to Asda on behalf of nine family members but matters had to be escalated to a court action.

Within five months the case settled for a six-figure sum for Mr McMahon’s family.

While no amount of compensation would bring back his dad, his son noted the compensation helped cover funeral costs and various expenses which eased the family’s financial burdens during a devastating time.

He added: “I’m glad I chose Digby Brown to represent us. Craig got me the answers I needed and Joy was also very kind and considerate when gathering information from our family.

“I now know what happened to my father was a mistake made by a member of staff.

“I’m not oblivious to fact the staff member now likely has to live with the knowledge their failure led to someone dying – objectively, I can understand what they must be going through.

“Mistakes happen. We are human. But we do need to make sure no one loses their loved ones in avoidable ways like this.

“If what happened to my dad, and the outcome we secured, helps makes pharmacies safer across the country then it will be a small positive step to take forwards.”