Inquest into the disappearance of Benjamin LIPPIATT
Deceased
Benjamin Arthur Lippiatt
Demographics
26y, male
Date of death
2019-03-29
Finding date
2020-11-18
Cause of death
drowning
AI-generated summary
Benjamin Lippiatt, 26, disappeared from a cruise ship in the Coral Sea on 29 March 2019. After consuming approximately 13 standard drinks over 8 hours, he was found on FLIR camera footage lowering himself over the ship's railing at approximately 23:06 and falling into the sea. Expert evidence established he was most likely sleepwalking, with a documented history of sleepwalking from childhood and family predisposition. The fall from approximately 10.3 metres, combined with significant alcohol intoxication, high-speed water entry, cold water, and turbulent conditions from the moving vessel, made his death essentially instantaneous. The coroner found no evidence of suicide or foul play. No clinical or systemic failures were identified, and no recommendations were made as Benjamin's death would have been virtually impossible to prevent even with real-time video monitoring systems.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Specialties
Drugs involved
Contributing factors
- sleepwalking episode
- alcohol intoxication (estimated high blood alcohol content)
- family history of sleepwalking
- restless leg syndrome
- time of incident (shortly after falling asleep)
- high fall height from ship (10.3 metres)
- uncontrolled water entry
- turbulent water conditions from moving vessel
- cold water temperature
- rapid loss of consciousness
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