Paralysed woman dies after taking magic mushrooms to try and relieve horror pain

26 September 2023 , 16:39

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Paralysed Dorota Paskevic died after taking magic mushrooms in a bid to relieve her pain (Image: Just Giving)

A vet who was left paralysed by a crash in 2017 died after consuming magic mushrooms earlier this year in a bid to relieve her pain, an inquest has been told.

Dorota Paskevic was left tetraplegic with limited movement as a result of the incident, Norfolk's senior coroner, Jacqueline Lake said. The 33-year old was unable to eat or take medication without help, and required 24-hour care at her home in Dunston, near Norwich where she lived with her parents and live-in carers.

Ms Lake explained: "Dorota was in pain. She wanted to take mushrooms to act as a pain suppressant," before adding that Ms Paskevic arranged to obtain the mushrooms herself and had "asked her friend and previous carer to be present when she tried them". The coroner said Ms Paskevic warned her friend she "may trip for up to eight hours and may need water and also an ambulance if she stopped breathing".

Ms Paskevic was admitted to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital on February 28 and was pronounced dead three days later. Her cause of death was recorded as a hypoxic brain injury due to an overdose of psilocybin - a chemical found in magic mushrooms. Following an investigation, police decided to take no further action, with a report noting Ms Paskevic was a "very intelligent individual".

The report added that no-one else was involved in researching the mushrooms and Ms Paskevic "wanted to take the substance for no reason other than pain relief and for the experience of doing so". Recording a conclusion of death by misadventure, Ms Lake said: "There's no evidence Dorota intended to take her own life. She took the mushrooms in order to relieve the pain she was in. I'm satisfied this was an intentional act with an unintended consequence, namely her death."

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Ms Lake closed by extending her condolences to Ms Paskevic's family.

Alan Johnson