Deceased
Vanna Vassallo
Demographics
68y, female
Date of death
2017-05-16
Finding date
2019-09-19
Cause of death
Complications of a right subdural haemorrhage (palliated), sustained in a fall
AI-generated summary
Vanna Vassallo, a 68-year-old with schizophrenia, chronic comorbidities and documented high fall risk, died from complications of a subdural haemorrhage sustained in a fall at an aged mental health inpatient unit. She had sustained three falls during admission, with the final unwitnessed fall on 14 May 2017 resulting in massive intracranial bleeding. Clinical assessment after earlier falls may have underestimated injury risk. The coroner found the level of care appropriate and fell prevention strategies adequate, though noted the family's suggestion regarding CCTV monitoring. Key clinical lessons include heightened vigilance for head injury in patients with multiple falls, subdural haemorrhage risk following trauma in elderly patients, and the importance of reassessing mechanisms of repeated falls despite seemingly benign immediate presentations.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
Clinical conditions
Procedures
Female·Fulminant hepatic failure due to paracetamol toxicity
A 19-year-old female with anorexia nervosa, borderline personality disorder, and chronic suicidality was admitted to St Vincent’s psychiatric inpatient unit on 28 July 2023. She reported ongoing suicidal thoughts but eng…
41y · Male·asphyxia due to neck compression following ligature suspension (hanging)
DR was a 41-year-old man with bipolar disorder, severe alcohol dependence, and multiple psychosocial stressors including family violence, homelessness, and financial crisis. In October 2023, he presented with acute mania…
51y · Male·combined effects of dilated cardiomyopathy with myocardial fibrosis and prescrip…
Jacob MacDonald, 51, died at the Forensic Hospital from combined effects of dilated cardiomyopathy with myocardial fibrosis and toxic levels of clozapine and aripiprazole. He was an involuntary forensic psychiatric patie…
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 —