Coroner's Finding: Norris, Gary James
Deceased
Gary James Norris
Demographics
51y, male
Date of death
2023-07-20
Finding date
2026-10-13
Cause of death
Hypoxic ischaemic brain injury due to cardiac arrest following acute upper airway obstruction on a background of intellectual disability and epilepsy
AI-generated summary
Gary James Norris, aged 51, with intellectual disability and epilepsy, died from hypoxic ischaemic brain injury due to cardiac arrest following airway obstruction by food. On 15 July 2023, while eating at a fast-food restaurant, he likely experienced an absence seizure while consuming food without chewing it. Combined with his habit of not properly chewing, this caused severe choking. Emergency responders performed exemplary CPR, achieving return of spontaneous circulation. He was transferred via paramedics and specialist retrieval (MedSTAR) to Royal Adelaide Hospital, where he died five days later from severe anoxic brain injury. The coroner found clinical care throughout was appropriate and of high standard. An earlier January 2023 choking episode had been appropriately documented and referred for speech pathology assessment, which was deemed reasonable though non-urgent. No clinical errors or preventable defects in care were identified.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Drugs involved
Clinical conditions
Contributing factors
- Intellectual disability with reduced mental capacity
- Epilepsy with absence seizures
- Habit of not chewing food properly
- Absence seizure episode while eating
- Consumption of large unchewed pieces of food
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