Coroner's Finding: Fisher, Melissa
Deceased
Melissa Fisher
Demographics
32y, female
Date of death
2016-03-23
Finding date
2017-04-20
Cause of death
multiple blunt traumatic injuries sustained in a fall from height
AI-generated summary
Melissa Fisher, a 32-year-old experienced nurse and bushwalker, died from multiple blunt injuries sustained in a fall of approximately 50 metres whilst attempting to summit Federation Peak in Southwest National Park, Tasmania on 23 March 2016. She fell in the afternoon while bush walking with a companion who did not witness the fall but heard it. Emergency services were alerted via mobile phone and a search and rescue operation was mounted, with the body recovered the following day by helicopter-inserted SAR personnel. The coroner found this was a tragic accident with no suspicious circumstances. Federation Peak is noted as a notoriously dangerous and extremely challenging mountain with a history of fatal falls. No clinical errors or system failures were identified. The death highlights the inherent risks of mountaineering in challenging terrain despite participant fitness and experience.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- fall from approximately 50 metres whilst bushwalking at Federation Peak
- challenging and dangerous terrain
- Federation Peak is notorious for fatalities from falls
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 —