Coroner's Finding: Simmons, Lawrence John
Deceased
Lawrence John Simmons
Demographics
24y, male
Date of death
1980-03-01
Finding date
2018-05-29
Cause of death
Unable to determine; probable drowning
AI-generated summary
Lawrence John Simmons, aged 24, disappeared in the Tamar River near Low Head, Tasmania on 1 March 1980 while attempting to swim to a drifting boat after it struck rocks and lost propulsion. He had consumed considerable alcohol prior to entering the water and was not wearing a life jacket. Despite extensive search efforts, his body was never recovered. While drowning is probable, the coroner could not definitively determine the cause of death without forensic pathology evidence. The clinical lesson relates to alcohol impairment impairing judgement and swimming ability, combined with absence of basic safety equipment (life jacket) in an aquatic emergency.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Drugs involved
Contributing factors
- Significant alcohol consumption prior to entering water
- Absence of life jacket
- Strong water currents and rough conditions
- Impaired judgment due to intoxication
- Boat mechanical failure (propeller damage)
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 —