Legal action over jabs error at Leeds GP practice

Patients affected by a blunder over wrongly-stored vaccines at a Leeds GP practice are taking legal action.
File picture.File picture.
File picture.

As reported in the Yorkshire Evening Post last December, patients of Dr S Laybourn and Partners received a letter warning that jabs “may not have been stored at the correct temperature” between January 1, 2015 and July 14, 2016.

The problem at the practice, which oversees surgeries on York Road in Cross Gates and Rookwood Avenue in Halton, was picked up during a routine inspection by health watchdog the Care Quality Commission and affected 480 children and 126 adults.

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Now it has been revealed that Leeds law firm Ison Harrison is acting for several patients. Two cases have been opened so far and the firm said it expected more to be started following “a number of enquiries”.

Vaccinations affected included those against potentially life-threatening diseases including the 5-in-1 and the meningitis B jabs, both given to young babies. Those who received the wrongly-stored medicines were invited to be re-vaccinated.

Simon Helliwell, chartered legal executive in the personal injury and clinical negligence team at Ison Harrison, said he was already dealing with similar cases elsewhere: “Incidents across the country show that correctly storing vaccinations remains an issue and patients who believe they have been immunised may, in reality, remain unprotected. Not only is this a cause for major concern but in some cases can be life-threatening.”