Finding into death of Brent Robert TRICKEY
Deceased
Brent Robert Trickey
Demographics
37y, male
Date of death
2021-04-24
Finding date
2024-08-14
Cause of death
Gunshot wound to the abdomen
AI-generated summary
A 37-year-old deer hunter was fatally shot in the abdomen by a fellow hunter in a remote, densely vegetated area near Dandongadale, Victoria. The incident occurred approximately two hours before emergency services reached the location. While the shooting itself was deemed a tragic accident with poor visibility preventing the shooter from seeing the victim, significant delays in emergency response were identified. The ESTA emergency call-taker failed to accurately process GPS coordinates provided by the caller, resulting in emergency helicopter being directed to an incorrect location. Although the coroner could not definitively establish that earlier medical intervention would have altered the outcome, systemic deficiencies in ESTA's GPS coordinate handling procedures were identified as contributing to the response delay. The case highlights risks in remote area hunting safety and emergency dispatch procedures in rural regions.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
Contributing factors
- Dense vegetation obscuring visibility in hunting area
- ESTA call-taker inability to accurately process GPS coordinates provided by caller
- Confusion between helipad and airfield terminology in emergency dispatch
- Lack of direct communication between helicopter crew and ground party
- Possible human or technical error in CAD system coordinate entry
- Failure to record GPS coordinates in CAD event remarks for dispatcher review
- Remote location with poor mobile phone reception
- Poor radio communication quality in dense forest area
Coroner's recommendations
- Copy of finding provided to Victorian Inspector-General of Emergency Management (IGEM) for consideration of whether human or technical errors adversely affected efforts to locate and treat the deceased, and to suggest necessary changes if such errors are found
- ESTA to review and revise training for entering latitude and longitude coordinates and use this event in de-identified form as a case study for training
Full text
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