Common antibiotic drove a lawyer to kill himself by walking into traffic after he survived crashing into a barrier, coroner rules

Alexander Mulroney, a married father with 'no history of emotional or mental ill-health', took his own life on 18 December 2025, two days after starting the fluoroquinolone ofloxacin for a recurring urinary and genital condition. Late the night before, he left home in his pyjamas and a coat, telling his wife he was going to hospital with a rash, then stopped to text her 'expressing sorrow for what he was about to do'.

Prescribing software's only high-severity alert warns of 'disabling' side effects without once mentioning suicide.

Existing MHRA warnings already admit fluoroquinolones have been linked to suicide in patients with no psychiatric history.

Berkshire assistant coroner Ian Wade KC warned Alexander Mulroney's death was not isolated, calling current safeguards 'insufficient'.