Inquest into the death of Craig LEISHMAN
Deceased
Craig Leishman
Demographics
46y, male
Date of death
2016-11-02
Finding date
2017-06-07
Cause of death
Complications of chronic alcoholism and hypertension
AI-generated summary
Craig Leishman, 46, died from complications of chronic alcoholism and hypertension. He had a 10-year history of heavy alcohol use, liver failure (identified February 2016), and completed rehabilitation. Two weeks before death he resumed heavy drinking (half bottle spirits daily), then abruptly stopped on 1 November. He collapsed in the shower on 2 November and could not be resuscitated. Autopsy revealed fatty liver disease, enlarged heart, and elevated ketoacid levels consistent with alcoholic ketoacidosis (AKA)—a potentially fatal metabolic condition occurring after sudden alcohol cessation. The coroner found his death resulted from a probable combination of AKA, chronic liver disease, and cardiac arrhythmia risk. Clinically, this case highlights that abrupt alcohol cessation in heavy drinkers with liver disease carries significant mortality risk and requires medical monitoring.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Drugs involved
Contributing factors
- chronic heavy alcohol consumption
- abrupt alcohol cessation
- alcoholic ketoacidosis
- chronic liver disease with fatty infiltration
- enlarged heart with increased arrhythmia risk
- electrolyte disturbances
- metabolic derangement
Full text
Related cases
Source and disclaimer
This page reproduces or summarises information from publicly available findings published by Australian coroners' courts. Coronial is an independent educational resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any coronial court or government body.
Content may be incomplete, reformatted, or summarised. All court orders for redaction and non-publication are respected; documents with technically defective redaction have been excluded from the database entirely. Always refer to the original court publication for the authoritative record.
Copyright in original materials remains with the relevant government jurisdiction. AI-generated summaries and tagging are for educational purposes only, may contain inaccuracies, and must not be treated as legal documents. We welcome feedback for correction —