Inquest into death of JULIE ANN HERMANS
Deceased
Julie Ann Hermans
Demographics
54y, female
Date of death
2019-08-10
Finding date
2020-02-20
Cause of death
Multiple organ failure, due to pneumonia in a patient with Guillain-Barré syndrome with quadriplegia, diabetes mellitus, chronic pain and recurrent infections
AI-generated summary
Julie Ann Hermans, a 54-year-old Aboriginal woman with Guillain-Barré syndrome, quadriplegia, diabetes, and recurrent infections, died from multiple organ failure due to hospital-acquired pneumonia during an ICU admission at The Canberra Hospital. The family raised concerns about disability discrimination, parenteral feed composition, and adequacy of specialist response. The coroner found no evidence to support these contentions. The pathologist noted Mrs Hermans received high-level investigation and treatment with appropriate multidisciplinary involvement. Extensive discussions occurred regarding feeding safety and airway management, with consensus that intubation was not warranted based on her ability to maintain her airway and her expressed wishes declining ICU re-admission and CPR. No systemic failures or discriminatory practices were identified.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Specialties
Clinical conditions
Procedures
Contributing factors
- Guillain-Barré syndrome with acquired quadriplegia
- dysphagia
- diabetes mellitus
- chronic pain
- recurrent infections
- hospital-acquired pneumonia
- multiple comorbidities
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