Finding into death of Josephine Cesnik
Deceased
Josephine Cesnik
Demographics
76y, female
Date of death
2008-02-03
Finding date
2010-01-15
Cause of death
Complications of subdural haemorrhage
AI-generated summary
Josephine Cesnik, 76, sustained a head injury in an alleged assault on 20 January 2008 but did not seek immediate medical attention, instead explaining her injuries as a fall. She presented to Royal Melbourne Hospital on 29 January with severe headache and was diagnosed with subdural haemorrhage requiring surgery. She was on warfarin, an anticoagulant, which would have complicated bleeding control. Post-operatively, she developed a cerebral infarction on 31 January, deemed untreatable, and died on 3 February. The coroner found death resulted from complications of subdural haemorrhage but could not determine the exact mechanism of the initial head injury. This case illustrates the dangers of delayed presentation in head-injured patients, especially those on anticoagulation therapy, and the potential for serious post-operative complications.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Specialties
Drugs involved
Clinical conditions
Contributing factors
- Delayed presentation to hospital (nine days after initial head injury)
- Anticoagulation with warfarin increasing bleeding risk and complications
- Post-operative cerebral infarction
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