Inquest into the death of Robert HOWLETT
Deceased
Robert Howlett
Demographics
74y, male
Date of death
2015-11-03
Finding date
2020-04-22
Cause of death
Ischaemic heart disease and coronary atherosclerosis
AI-generated summary
Mr Robert Howlett, a 74-year-old man with extensive comorbidities including chronic lung disease, hypertension and severe hearing disability, died of ischaemic heart disease and coronary atherosclerosis while in custody at Long Bay Correctional Centre. During his September-November 2015 custodial period, nifedipine (an antihypertensive he had been taking in the community) was not prescribed. Concerns were raised about this medication omission. However, expert cardiological opinion determined that withholding nifedipine was appropriate given his measured blood pressures were already low (101-116 systolic), and that had it been known nifedipine was his usual medication, it would likely have been appropriately withheld for safety reasons. The expert concluded the failure to prescribe nifedipine made no contribution to his death. His death resulted from natural cardiac causes.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
Contributing factors
- chronic lung disease with multiple exacerbations
- hypertension
- atrial fibrillation episodes
- recent lower respiratory infections
- extensive comorbidities
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 —