Accidental overdose after period pains led to tragic death of Hampstead teenager

A Hampstead teenager died of liver failure after accidentally overdosing on painkillers to try to cover up her period pains, a court heard on Tuesday (January 8).

Tara Bradshaw, 19, had been desperate to go on holiday to Paris with her family in March 2010, St Pancras Coroner’s Court heard.

Tara took at least 16 paracetamol over 24 hours in a bid to conceal her pain. She was taken to University College Hospital on April 1, 2010 as she was unable to keep her food down. She was diagnosed with acute liver failure and had a liver transplant at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead.

The surgery was initially successful and Tara was able to return to boarding school in Oxford.

However, she was in and out of hospital with abdominal pains as her body tried to reject her new liver. Tara died on September 16 last year.

Interim coroner Shirley Radcliffe recorded a verdict of accidental death.

In a statement read out in court, her mother, Chenge, said: “She was a very happy girl, very popular with her friends and loved by so many. This was just unfortunate. She didn’t intentionally try and overdose to harm herself. It was an accident.”