Deceased
Mellanie Joanne Paltridge
Demographics
25y, female
Date of death
2012-04-15
Finding date
2015-03-02
Cause of death
ruptured splenic artery aneurysm
AI-generated summary
This ruling concerns a legal dispute over production of documents rather than the clinical circumstances of death itself. Mellanie Joanne Paltridge, 25 years old and 23 weeks pregnant, died from a ruptured splenic artery aneurysm on 15 April 2012 at Women's and Children's Hospital. Despite presentation with unconscious collapse and severe abdominal pain, the diagnosis was not made ante-mortem despite examination by multiple medical practitioners. Emergency surgery was performed but the rupture was not identified; diagnosis came only at post-mortem. The Court sought documentation regarding whether lessons from an earlier similar death (Monique Hooper in 2009, also from ruptured splenic artery aneurysm) had been learned and acted upon. The Court ruled that the Chief Executive of SA Health must produce the requested documentation, as legal protections in Part 7 of the Health Care Act 2008 apply only to specific 'authorised persons' conducting the quality improvement activities, not to senior executives receiving reports.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes. Report an inaccuracy.
Specialties
Error types
Clinical conditions
Procedures
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Bodhi Leo Searle, aged 36 hours, died from hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy due to intrapartum asphyxia. He was born to a woman in low-risk labour managed initially by independent midwife Stephanie Geyer. When labour did…
0y · Female·hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy secondary to intrapartum hypoxia
A 2-day-old neonate, Laura Angela Willmett, died from hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy following intrapartum hypoxia. She was born by emergency caesarean section after a planned vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) at a …
25y · Female·ruptured splenic artery aneurysm with haemorrhage and internal blood loss
A 25-year-old pregnant woman (23 weeks) presented to hospital with sudden left upper quadrant abdominal pain and loss of consciousness. Clinical assessment identified renal colic and gallstones as likely diagnoses. She r…
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