Deceased
Patricia Iliev
Demographics
57y, female
Date of death
2021-03-06
Finding date
2025-08-05
Cause of death
starvation due to insufficient food intake
AI-generated summary
Patricia Iliev, a 57-year-old woman, died from starvation after progressively restricting her food intake over months while immobilised by chronic back pain. She had a gastrointestinal stromal tumour and advanced lung disease from smoking. Her partner, Philip Adams, provided food and care as requested but did not intervene when she stopped eating entirely in her final week, despite her becoming unresponsive and incapacitated. The coroner found Adams' account of events unreliable and questioned whether Iliev retained decision-making capacity in her final days. Key clinical lessons: untreated chronic pain and mental health conditions can lead to fatal outcomes; patients with capacity must have documented advance directives; early medical intervention for treatable conditions could have prevented death; and caregivers have obligations to seek help when patients become unable to communicate or self-care.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes. Report an inaccuracy.
Specialties
Error types
Drugs involved
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Source and disclaimer
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