Deceased
Richard William Hobbs
Demographics
48y, male
Coroner
Ryan
Date of death
2017-11-21
Finding date
2020-12-17
Cause of death
Coronary atherosclerosis with acute cardiac event
AI-generated summary
Richard William Hobbs, aged 48, died from cardiac arrest in custody at Brisbane Correctional Centre on 21 November 2017. He had significant comorbidities including coronary artery disease (recent stent insertion), diabetes, obesity, and hypertension. Clinical lessons include: (1) the critical importance of systematic deterioration monitoring using early warning tools like Q-ADDS in all patient encounters, not just emergencies; (2) need for formal care plans with clear escalation pathways when managing complex, multi-morbid patients in resource-limited settings; (3) ensuring timely communication between tertiary health services and primary care settings regarding medication changes and clinical reasoning; (4) the potential masking effect of antipyretics in obscuring infection signs; (5) environmental factors affecting patient safety—Mr Hobbs was required to walk 4 metres to an ambulance despite acute decompensation and severe exercise intolerance due to absence of a ramp. The coroner found medical care appropriate but identified system-level gaps in observation recording, clinical handover documentation, and escalation protocols that contributed to failure to recognise subtle deterioration trends.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes. Report an inaccuracy.
Specialties
Error types
Drugs involved
Clinical conditions
Procedures
22y · Male·Airway obstruction due to laryngeal abscess and laryngeal chondronecrosis due to…
Kyle Gallagher, age 22, died from airway obstruction due to laryngeal abscess and chondronecrosis following a motorcycle accident. A CT scan on 13 July 2023 showed a critically narrowed (3mm) subglottic airway with suspe…
78y · Female·Hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy as a result of obstruction of airway caused by …
A 78-year-old woman died from hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy following an acute post-surgical arterial bleed that obstructed her airway after hemithyroidectomy. The bleeding complication occurred when she coughed after…
35y · Female·Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy due to cardiorespiratory arrest due to vertebro…
A 35-year-old woman presented to a rural hospital with a three-day history of collapses, slurred speech, vomiting, and abnormal eye movements. A non-contrast CT head scan was normal, and she was discharged with a diagnos…
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. Some material may have been redacted or restricted by court order or privacy requirements. 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 — report an inaccuracy here.