Coronial
NSWcommunity

Inquest into the death of person known as 'Andy'

Demographics

40y, unknown

Date of death

2014-08-28

Finding date

2015-11-11

Cause of death

Pulmonary thrombo-emboli complicating deep vein thrombosis of the right leg

AI-generated summary

Andy, an unidentified homeless man in his 30s or 40s, died from a massive pulmonary thromboembolism secondary to deep vein thrombosis of the right leg. Two days before death, he fell down stairs and reported chest pain, which community members and a doctor encouraged him to seek emergency care for, but he refused ambulance transport. He was found collapsed on 28 August 2014 and could not be revived. The clinical lesson is that chest pain with recent trauma and immobility in an obese individual should raise concern for pulmonary embolism. Homeless individuals face barriers to accessing healthcare; proactive intervention and documentation of risk factors might have changed the outcome, though his refusal of care limited available options.

AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.

Contributing factors

  • Recent fall with immobility
  • Obesity
  • Homelessness and social disadvantage
  • Refusal of ambulance and medical intervention
  • Lack of formal medical assessment and monitoring
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