Leigh Rodgers, 34, had been suffering from toothache but was unable to get a dentist appointment before she was rushed to hospital and died from an allergic reaction
A woman suffering from toothache and unable to get a dental appointment died from a rare allergic reaction after she was rushed to hospital. Leigh Rodgers, a 34-year-old kitchen designer at B&Q, had painful toothache which spread to the neck and chest for around two weeks.
She was rushed to hospital, assessed for a tooth abscess, and given a CT scan to rule out Ludwig’s angina – a rare but life-threatening bacterial infection which can be caused by a tooth infection – on March 7, 2024. But she suffered a rare allergic reaction to dye she was injected with to aid the imaging process at University Hospital of North Durham, and she died 90 minutes later.
No evidence of Ludwig’s angina showed up on the CT scan results, an inquest heard on February 19, 2025. Her grieving mum Pam Rodgers, 56, feels if she had been given a dental appointment earlier, she wouldn’t be dead, as a scan to rule out the infection would not have been required.
Leigh – the mother of a nine-year-old girl – lived in Stanhope, Co. Durham, and was unable to get an NHS appointment because of waiting times and backlogs, her family say.
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The inquest heard from her partner, Darren, who said she had “tried to get a dentist appointment but couldn’t for weeks”. Pam, a management consultant from West Auckland, also claims the risks of a CT scan were not explained to her daughter and there was no informed consent.
“Every time I close my eyes I imagine my daughter in the coffin,” she said. “If she could’ve got a dental appointment, she wouldn’t be dead, and if she could’ve got urgent care she wouldn’t have been dead.”
The inquest at Crook Coroners’ Court heard she called an ambulance after she couldn’t get a dentist appointment. She was given iodine-based contrast media, a special dye which makes parts of the body more visible on scans, and went into anaphylactic shock.
Despite attempts to resuscitate her, she died. Senior assistant coroner Crispin Oliver concluded that Leigh’s cause of death was a fatal allergic reaction to the contrast media administered for a CT scan, after attending the Emergency Department at University Hospital of North Durham with symptoms of tooth abscess and potential Ludwig’s Angina.
According to NHS Direct, there are risks to CT scans. The website says: “Complications of a CT scan are rare. Some people can have an allergic reaction to the contrast medium (dye). This can cause weakness, sweating and difficulty breathing.
“You’ll be asked to wait at the hospital for up to 30 minutes after having the scan before you can go home if you had contrast medium.” Pam thinks the risks weren’t properly explained to her daughter.
“I don’t accept that they were too busy and there’s nothing stopping them from handing out a leaflet to explain the risks and to explain what they are doing to her,” she said.
“I want to make people aware of the risks of contrast media and issues with the NHS. Those involved at the inquest and were saying it was someone else was at fault. But it should be a department wide decision and not on individual doctors.”
A spokesperson for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are deeply saddened by Leigh’s death, and our heartfelt condolences go out to her family during this incredibly difficult time.
“We are fully committed to providing the highest standard of patient care. A thorough investigation into Leigh’s care has been carried out, and the findings have been shared with Leigh’s family. We are ensuring that the lessons learned from this report are embedded across the Trust to improve our services.”
