Coronial
NSWother

Inquest into the death of John Cribb

Deceased

John Cribb

Demographics

67y, male

Date of death

2018-02-21

Finding date

2023-05-05

Cause of death

Haemopericardium arising from a ruptured aorta (aortic dissection)

AI-generated summary

John Cribb, a 67-year-old man with known cardiac disease (coronary artery disease, aortic regurgitation, hypertension), died in custody from haemopericardium due to ruptured aortic dissection. He had signed a not-for-resuscitation directive and advanced care plan in August 2017, explicitly declining life-prolonging medical interventions. He was last observed at 2:34pm on 20 February and found unresponsive on 21 February. A failure to conduct a head check during the morning 'let go' on 21 February was identified but deemed not contributory given his pre-existing fatal cardiac condition and expressed wishes. The coroner found no policy deficiencies, appropriate management throughout custody, and proper responses to the fatal incident. No recommendations were made.

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

Contributing factors

  • moderate non-obstructive coronary disease
  • aortic regurgitation
  • hypertension
  • family history of heart disease
  • failure to conduct head check at morning 'let go' (deemed non-contributory by coroner)
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