UK man gets £70,000 settlement from GP after gambling 'spiralled out of control' following medication

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A UK man has landed a £70,000 settlement from his GP after claiming that he became a compulsive gambler and shopper after being prescribed medication for a tremor in his leg.

Philip Stevens, 66, from Ringwood, Hampshire, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1995 and, after his condition deteriorated in 2015, he was forced to stop working. Two years later, he developed a tremor in his left leg that left him unable to sleep at night. 

He visited his GP, who diagnosed the condition as restless leg syndrome. As a result of that diagnosis, Mr Stevens was prescribed Ropinirole, a dopamine antagonist medication, to control the tremor and allow him to sleep.

However, according to Leigh Day, his solicitors, the medication would also have other, wider-ranging effects on Mr Stevens.

They argued that the GP had failed to warn Mr Stevens of the possible side effects of the drug, which include impulse control disorder that can cause uncontrollable decision-making in shopping and gambling situations.

According to Leigh Day, before starting his course of medication, Mr Stevens was "careful and intentional" with his betting. But, after taking Ropinirole, they stated that his gambling "spiralled out of control," with the father of five – two children and three stepchildren – using his smartphone to place impulse bets, including in the middle of the night.

"Over the four years that Philip took Ropinirole, he spent thousands of pounds on online gambling websites," said a spokeswoman for Mr. Stevens.

"His gambling became compulsive, and he was betting on anything he could and stopped caring about winning altogether. He did not feel in control of his actions."

The spokeswoman added that, in addition to his spiralling gambling habit, Mr Stevens also developed a habit of shopping ‘compulsively’ for clothes that he hid from his wife. He also developed a compulsion to go on three-day fishing trips and purchased excessive amounts of fishing tackle and equipment.

In 2021, after undergoing a review by a neurologist, Mr Stevens stopped taking the medication, but he said that he had not been advised on how to gradually reduce his dosage in order to come off the medication safely and gradually.

According to his spokeswoman, Mr Stevens' compulsive nature stopped, but other issues appeared, including hallucinations, paranoia and exhaustion, as the withdrawal symptoms started to kick in. Such was the level of paranoia he was experiencing, that Mr Stevens even asked his own children to take DNA tests as he had become convinced that he was not their natural father.

All of the above led to Mr Stevens suffering with depression and he was eventually referred to a local mental health crisis team in the summer of 2022.

"The things that I once enjoyed that became obsessions, such as fishing and horse racing, are now joyless because with each one a sense of guilt overcomes me," said Mr. Stevens.

"I am not the same person as I was pre-Ropinirole. The withdrawal symptoms along with the shame of my compulsive behaviour has mentally drained me and left me very withdrawn.

"On a positive level, my marriage has survived and I am beginning to look forward more than backwards, and maybe one day I will believe that what happened to me was not my fault."

After his solicitors took up his case against his GP, based on the doctor's alleged failure to adequately inform Mr Stevens of the side effects of the drug, Mr Stevens was awarded a settlement payout of £70,000, with his solicitors' spokeswoman stating that the settlement was agreed without the GP accepting liability.

Reacting to the settlement, medical negligence solicitor Angharad Vaughan said, "I am pleased that we were able to secure this settlement for Philip.

"It is shocking that it took so long for a medical professional to flag the potential side-effects and withdrawal symptoms from taking Ropinirole.

"We hope that important lessons will be learned from this case to ensure that, in future, patients receive all the information they need about the potential side effects of such drugs."