Coronial
TAShospital

Coroner's Finding: Whittle, Marion Olive 2017 TASCD 114

Deceased

Marion Olive Whittle

Demographics

87y, female

Date of death

2014-01-07

Finding date

2017-03-27

Cause of death

cardiogenic shock and tricuspid regurgitation secondary to traumatic papillary muscle laceration resulting from motor vehicle crash

AI-generated summary

Marion Olive Whittle, aged 87, died from cardiogenic shock and tricuspid regurgitation following a motor vehicle crash on 6 January 2014. She sustained a traumatic papillary muscle laceration when the vehicle she was a passenger in was struck by another car. She was admitted to Royal Hobart Hospital's ICU and died on 7 January 2014 after consciously declining surgery due to her poor prognosis. Pre-existing heart conditions were significant contributing factors. The crash resulted from the driver's error—an improper U-turn across a no-crossing line without adequate visibility of oncoming traffic. This was a non-medical case; the death resulted from trauma and the patient's informed refusal of surgery given her age and cardiac condition.

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

Contributing factors

  • traumatic papillary muscle laceration
  • pre-existing heart conditions
  • motor vehicle crash
  • driver error and improper U-turn
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