Finding into death of Diane Maree Pearse
Deceased
Diane Maree Pearse
Demographics
51y, female
Date of death
2020-08-03
Finding date
2022-01-12
Cause of death
Status epilepticus on a background of Lennox Gastaut syndrome and cerebral palsy
AI-generated summary
Diane Maree Pearse, a 51-year-old woman with Lennox Gastaut syndrome and severe cerebral palsy, died from status epilepticus after prolonged deterioration. She had progressive dysphagia and recurrent seizures despite multiple anti-epileptic medications. A PEG tube was deemed too high-risk given her severe scoliosis and anatomical distortion. Palliative care was appropriately initiated with an advance care directive in place. Clinical management focused on symptom control rather than invasive interventions, consistent with her wishes. The coroner found the care provided was appropriate throughout her life, with no evidence of inadequate clinical management or personal care. This case demonstrates appropriate end-of-life decision-making in a complex patient with limited safe intervention options.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- severe progressive dysphagia
- worsening seizure activity despite multiple anti-epileptic medications
- aspiration pneumonia
- severe scoliosis with distorted anatomy precluding safe PEG insertion
- paroxysmal hypothermia
Full text
Related cases
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 —