HOSPITAL bosses have apologised and started an investigation after a complaint that a patient was given an overdose that her family claim "could have killed her."

Nicole Caplin, who has cerebral palsy and weighs just six stone, was admitted to Ward 4 of Bradford Royal Infirmary with suspected pneumonia.

It was on that ward that her family say she was given a dose of paracetamol big enough for a 13-stone man.

Miss Caplin, who lives with her family at Paradise Fold, Clayton, had to have blood tests and was put on a drip for 26 hours because her liver had become inflamed.

The 30-year-old was moved to another ward until she was discharged one week after being admitted.

She is now back home recovering, but her sister-in-law Ava Midgley says she was lucky to survive.

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is now investigating the family's complaint and has apologised for any distress.

Miss Midgley said: "Nicole was constantly being sick for three days. She had gone yellow and was all dithery.

"We knew something wasn't right. It was only when her mum questioned the size of the paracetamol dose they were giving her through a large drip that the staff realised they had made a mistake and that they had been giving her enough for a grown, 13 stone man - she's only tiny.

"There's a massive dose difference. It was only at this point they decided to weigh her and get it right.

"Nicola's back home now much to our relief. She's still not well but her liver is back to normal we are told. She was lucky the consequences of having too much paracetamol could have been much worse, she could have died from it," said Miss Midgley.

And she added: "We plan to take the legal route for this negligence. It's not about money or compensation it's about making sure this doesn't happen to anyone else. It should have been obvious to the nurses and doctors, she was getting too much but they missed it. It was a serious error.

"We are asking ourselves if the hospital would ever have noticed the overdose if we hadn't picked up on it. She'd been having it for three days and they hadn't. Nicole already has a big health battle to cope with without those in charge of her care making a mistake that could have killed her."

A spokesman for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “We can confirm that a complaint has been received and we are taking all necessary actions to investigate the circumstances.

"We are intending to meet with the patient’s family to discuss their concerns as soon as possible and apologise sincerely for any distress this has caused.”

According to the NHS website, paracetamol can cause liver and kidney damage, when taken at higher-than-recommended doses.

The website goes on to warn that liver damage that can result from a paracetamol overdose can be fatal in extreme cases.