Deceased
JOHN WILLIAM BROWN
Demographics
55y, male
Date of death
2009-04-08
Finding date
2011-02-17
Cause of death
gastrointestinal malignancy, probably carcinoma of the pancreas
AI-generated summary
John William Brown was a 55-year-old male admitted as an involuntary patient with terminal pancreatic cancer diagnosed in October 2007. He was transferred from psychiatric care to a palliative care unit in November 2008 due to complex medical needs. His health deteriorated rapidly from March 2009, and he died from pancreatic cancer on 8 April 2009. The case illustrates challenges in managing patients with serious mental illness and terminal malignancy simultaneously. While his treating doctor anticipated death and described pain control as adequate, the finding raises questions about the appropriateness and timeliness of psychiatric interventions versus prioritising comfort measures in the final weeks of a terminal patient's life. Documentation of palliative decision-making and involvement of senior medical oversight could have been clearer.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Specialties
Clinical conditions
36y · Male·Drowning
Gary Dale Sargeant, a 36-year-old Royal Australian Air Force member, died by drowning after absconding from Edinburgh Health Centre during an acute mental health crisis. Critical clinical failures included: a clinical ps…
45y · Male·focal coronary artery disease and cardiomegaly
Stratos Ioannidis, age 45, died at Maroondah Hospital on 28 March 2025 from focal coronary artery disease and cardiomegaly during an involuntary psychiatric admission. He presented with acute psychosis from bipolar disor…
25y · Male·Head injury sustained on impact with a train
Edward Timothy Peterson, aged 25, was involuntarily admitted to Maroondah Hospital's psychiatric unit on 11 February 2021 with first episode psychosis. Clinical care by psychiatrist Dr C. was appropriate: medications wer…
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 —