Finding into death of Baby L
Deceased
Baby L
Demographics
1y, female
Date of death
2018-10-07
Finding date
2024-10-11
Cause of death
Unascertained - cardiac arrest with brain swelling; neuropathology demonstrated laceration to corpus callosum and hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy
AI-generated summary
Baby L, a 20-month-old Aboriginal child, collapsed at home on 6 October 2018 and died at the Royal Children's Hospital on 7 October 2018. She had presented with cough, vomiting and lethargy in the days preceding her collapse. Despite comprehensive post-mortem examination and ancillary investigations, the cause of death remains unascertained. Neuropathology revealed brain trauma (laceration to corpus callosum) with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy, but whether this resulted from accidental trauma, non-accidental injury, or natural disease could not be determined. The coroner found no proximate causal connection between previously documented bruising and the fatal event. The coroner commended child protection and day care centre staff for diligent identification and reporting of concerns.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- Brain trauma (corpus callosum laceration) of undetermined aetiology
- Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy
- Cardiac arrest
- Preceding cough, vomiting and lethargy
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