Mother accuses paramedics of killing her daughter
Paloma Shemirani, 23, died in July last year seven months after receiving a cancer diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. She had refused chemotherapy treatment.
Her mother Kate, a former nurse who rose to prominence on social media sharing Covid conspiracy theories, accused the emergency team who treated Paloma when she collapsed at home of gross negligence manslaughter.
She also denied influencing Paloma's refusal of conventional treatment, saying: "I cared for her like any loving mother would, but I did not make her decisions."
Ms Shemirani was struck off as a nurse in 2021, having qualified in the 1980s and a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) committee found she had spread Covid-19 misinformation that "put the public at a significant risk of harm".
Giving a statement via video link to Thursday's hearing in Maidstone, Mrs Shemirani said that when her daughter was first diagnosed in December 2024 she was given "experimental" medication without her agreement.
She added: "I was gravely concerned my daughter may have been enrolled in a drug trial without her knowledge."
She said Paloma, a Cambridge graduate from Uckfield in East Sussex, had felt bullied and pressured by doctors while considering chemotherapy, adding: "I told her not to sign the consent form.
"I was concerned she was being deceived and they'd already started her treatment without her authorisation."
Mrs Shemirani described suggestions she had coerced Paloma into refusing chemotherapy as "false and deeply offensive" and said her daughter was "fully competent" to make up her own mind.
The inquest was also played the 999 call made by Mrs Shemirani on the night Paloma collapsed, during which she can be overheard shouting that her daughter is dying.
But now she states that it was only when paramedics arrived that "everything went horribly wrong", blaming them for administering "a massive overdose of drugs too quickly to a petit woman".
Describing the months leading up to her daughter's death Mrs Shemirani said Paloma had chosen treatment which included nutrition, juices and spiritual support, claiming that many of her symptoms had disappeared.
Coroner Catherine Wood also heard from intensive care consultant Dr Peter Anderson who saw Paloma at the Royal Sussex County Hospital when paramedics brought her in.
He said a scan showed a large mass in her chest and neck which was compressing her airways and affecting major blood vessels.
Either could have caused the cardiac arrest she suffered, he added.
The inquest continues.
Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.
'Our sister died of cancer because of our mum's conspiracy theories'
Woman dying of cancer sent to osteopath by her mum
Concern mum 'influenced daughter's chemo refusal'
Related internet links
Kent and Medway Coroner's Service
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
5 hours ago
- The Hill
Kennedy targets vaccination injury program
Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is targeting a little-known but crucial program that underpins all childhood vaccinations. Kennedy took to social media and the show of conservative activist Charlie Kirk this week to rail against the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and pledge significant changes. 'The VICP is broken, and I intend to fix it,' he wrote on social platform X. 'I will not allow the VICP to continue to ignore its mandate and fail its mission of quickly and fairly compensating vaccine-injured individuals.' Attorneys and other experts say Kennedy is right that the program, which was created in 1986 in order to give quick payouts to families who can prove a child was injured from a vaccine, is badly in need of modernization. 'There's a lot of low hanging fruit that [Kennedy] can act on that would immediately alter the course of the vaccine program for the better,' said David Carney, a vaccine injury attorney in Philadelphia and president of the Vaccine Injured Petitioners Bar Association. Cases could be settled quicker, rather than going through a trial, Carney said. Kennedy could also press Congress to act on legislation that would increase the court staff, increase the pain and suffering caps, and add COVID-19 vaccines to the list of shots eligible for the program. It has too few staff available to handle a massive caseload, leaving patients waiting for years just to have their cases heard. It covers almost three times as many vaccines as when it was first created, but the number of 'special masters' who hear cases has stayed the same. Attorneys who argue vaccine injuries said the government has been more favorable to vaccines than petitioners in recent years, fighting against claims that would have previously been easily settled. 'It's not the fast, informal, petitioner-friendly program that Congress designed. It is very adversarial and litigious. That's absolutely, 100% true,' said Renée Gentry, director of the Vaccine Injury Litigation Clinic at George Washington University Law School. But there's fear the changes Kennedy wants will undermine the program, or tear it down entirely, risking driving drugmakers from the market and threatening access to childhood shots. Kennedy has long targeted the VICP, and his X post echoed many of his previous arguments. He did not elaborate on what changes he is making but said he is working with Attorney General Pam Bondi. He has previously said he wants to expand the program, making it easier for claimants to qualify for awards based on adverse events he claims are associated with vaccines but are not currently part of the program. People can prove injuries two ways, said Dorit Reiss, a vaccine law expert and law professor at UC San Francisco. Either you fit into the table of injuries, and then there's a presumption that the vaccine caused the harm, or you have to show causation for an injury outside the list. Kennedy has the power to add new injuries to the eligible list, like autism, which he has repeatedly linked to vaccines. In an interview with Tucker Carlson earlier in July, Kennedy also suggested vaccines are linked to numerous chronic ailments like diabetes and narcolepsy. 'We have now this epidemic of immune dysregulation in our country, and there's no way to rule out vaccines as one of the key culprits,' Kennedy said. In order to add an injury to the list, Kennedy would have to go through the federal government's cumbersome notice-and-comment rulemaking process. Experts said it's usually a time consuming and expensive undertaking, and often the scientific reviews don't show enough evidence to prove if the vaccine caused harm or not. Kennedy could also unofficially start settling cases for more injuries without adding them to the list. Yet either change could risk bankrupting the program. Families are paid through a trust fund that's funded by an excise tax on vaccine makers, so there's a finite pot of money available. The program's fund covers lawyers' fees and the costs, even for losing cases. In exchange for the tax, vaccine makers have a limited liability shield. Petitioners file claims against the federal government, not the manufacturers, and families can get compensation without having to prove that drugmakers were negligent. Kennedy has suggested he wants to change that. 'The VICP has devolved into a morass of inefficiency, favoritism, and outright corruption as government lawyers and the Special Masters who serve as Vaccine Court judges prioritize the solvency of the HHS Trust Fund, over their duty to compensate victims,' Kennedy wrote. An HHS spokesman declined to say what, if any changes Kennedy is considering, saying the secretary's comments speak for itself. A popular anti-vaccine talking point is the desire to eliminate the vaccine makers' limited liability shield. But that's only something Congress can do. Kennedy does have the power to drop vaccines from the program. Right now, it covers 16 routinely recommended immunizations for children or pregnant women. But if a shot is no longer routinely recommended, it can be removed. In early June, Kennedy abruptly fired all members of the outside advisory group responsible for making vaccine recommendations. He appointed a new group of hand-picked replacements. If that group no longer recommends the HPV vaccine, for instance, Kennedy can revise the injury table to remove it. 'If he takes it away, then those people have no right to be in this program, and they're going to have to be stuck with civil litigation,' said Gentry, which is much more difficult and expensive.
The Hill
6 hours ago
- The Hill
What still causes the plague in the US?
(NEXSTAR) — Northern Arizona recently recorded its first pneumonic plague-related death since 2007. Early last year, Oregon saw its first case of the bubonic plague since 2015. Person-to-person spread of the plague hasn't been seen in more than 100 years in the U.S., but cases occasionally pop up. So what causes them? The plague cases reported in the U.S. today are not exactly the same as those seen in medieval Europe. Between 1347 and 1352 alone, it's estimated that the plague caused the deaths of at least 25 million Europeans. Rats aboard a ship from the Crimea and Asia that docked in Sicily are blamed for bringing the bubonic plague into Europe. Once fleas ran out of host rodents in Europe – those that lacked resistance to the plague also died – they sought out humans. Fungus labeled 'urgent threat' by CDC is spreading rapidly, hospital study finds Eventually, those who were sick or at risk of carrying the plague were isolated and put into quarantine, much like guidance issued during the COVID pandemic. A vaccine in the late 19th century, improved sanitation, better health practices and modern antibiotics have been credited with helping to stop the spread of the plague when it pops up. The U.S. now sees about seven cases annually, on average, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The World Health Organization says most human cases over the last three decades have been in Africa. When cases do occur in the U.S., they're primarily in the West, with most reported in New Mexico and Arizona. Cases have also appeared within the region of southern Oregon, far western Nevada, and California. U.S. cases are, most often, bubonic. There are three main forms of the plague: bubonic (the most common during Europe's Black Death), septicemic, and pneumonic. Generally speaking, plague is brought on by the Yersinia pestis bacterium, with humans and mammals being affected. 'Quiet cracking' is the newest term for a workplace problem — and it's 'pretty pervasive,' expert says The three types of plague present with different symptoms and are caused by different things. Bubonic plague is caused by the bites of fleas that are mostly found on rodents. Symptoms of bubonic plague, the Cleveland Clinic explains, include a sudden high fever; chills; headaches; pain in the abdomen, arms, and legs; and large, swollen lymph nodes that can leak pus. While the bacteria will multiply in the lymph node where it entered the body, it's capable of spreading to other parts of the body if not treated with antibiotics. Septicemic plague has similar symptoms to bubonic plague, including fever, chills, extreme weakness, pain in the abdomen, shock, and the possibility of bleeding into the skin and other organs, the CDC explains. This form of plague can develop from untreated bubonic plague as well as from the handling of infected animals. Should a person with bubonic or septicemic plague go without treatment, and the bacteria reach their lungs, they can develop pneumonic plague. A person can also get pneumonic plague from breathing in 'droplets coughed out by another person or animal with pneumonic plague,' according to the CDC. Like other forms of plague, a person infected with pneumonic plague may develop a fever, headache, weakness, and pneumonia, with the latter developing 'rapidly.' While bubonic and septicemic plague may take a few days to set in, the incubation period for pneumonic plague may be just over a day, the CDC reports. It's the only form that can be spread person-to-person, and it is considered the most serious form of the disease. Between 2020 and 2023, the CDC reported 15 human plague cases were reported. Of those, three died. As the Cleveland Clinic explains, plague has to be treated with antibiotics as quickly as possible — taking antibiotics within 24 hours of symptoms gives you 'the best chance of getting better.' You could begin feeling better within a week or two, as long as you receive treatment, according to health experts. Regardless of the type of plague, about 90% survive with quick treatment. Untreated, 'plague is nearly always fatal,' the Cleveland Clinic said. Health officials have not said how the Arizona resident who died earlier this year of the pneumonic plague became infected. Oregon's case of bubonic plague last year was believed to be brought on by a pet cat. In recent years, Colorado has reported a cat testing positive for septicemic plague and a cat, two prairie dog colonies, and a squirrel testing positive for bubonic plague. Infected fleas are largely to blame for plague cases that occur in the U.S. today, but the handling of infected animals – like cats, rabbits, rats, mice, and squirrels, according to New York's Department of Health – has also been known to lead to the plague. To avoid getting the plague, it's recommended that you take steps to avoid flea bites. That includes wearing bug spray with DEET and clearing up spaces outside where the wild animals fleas love may live. It's also important to speak with your veterinarian about preventing fleas on your pets. Your pets should also not be allowed to roam outdoors freely if you live in an area prone to the plague.
6 hours ago
COVID babies are going to kindergarten
Dr. Judith Joseph, a psychiatrist and author, joins ABC News Live to discuss parents' reactions to babies born during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
