Deceased
Leigh Ronald Bellingham
Demographics
37y, male
Date of death
2008-06-27
Finding date
2013-06-05
Cause of death
Toxic effects of heroin in combination with mirtazapine and sertraline
AI-generated summary
Leigh Ronald Bellingham, a 37-year-old man with a history of depression, suicidality, hepatitis C, and substance abuse, died from toxic effects of heroin in combination with mirtazapine and sertraline in June 2008. He was prescribed psychotropic medications and benzodiazepines by his GP despite being a documented suicide risk. Large quantities of medications were dispensed by multiple pharmacies over several months without apparent oversight. His GP acknowledged Mr Bellingham was always a suicide risk and had previously expressed concern about his welfare following hospital discharge. A critical clinical lesson is the need for heightened caution when prescribing psychotropic drugs to patients with documented suicidality, careful monitoring of repeat prescriptions to prevent accumulation, consideration of involving pharmacists in suicide risk monitoring, and safer prescribing practices around benzodiazepines in vulnerable patients. The case highlights the tension between autonomy and risk management in depression and suicidality.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Specialties
Error types
Drugs involved
Male, female, male, female·Nicholas Brown: combined drug (methadone and benzodiazepine) intoxication; Toni …
Joint inquest into four deaths of individuals prescribed opioid replacement therapy by Dr J. between September 2016 and August 2017: Nicholas Shane Brown (35), Toni Lee Wiki (38), Matthew Wayne Winwood (47), and Belinda …
41y · Male·Ligature compression of the neck (hanging) and penetrating sharp force injury (s…
Corey Desmond Devree, aged 41, died by suicide in Bunbury Regional Prison on 14 October 2024 through ligature compression of the neck and a self-inflicted stab wound to the chest. Key clinical and systemic lessons includ…
0y · Male·Perinatal hypoxia
Baby R, born at 39 weeks 6 days via planned homebirth with private midwives, died from perinatal hypoxia on day 6 of life. The mother had significant obstetric risk factors: previous emergency caesarean section, macrosom…
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 —