Finding into death of Timothy Michael Funder
Deceased
Timothy Michael Funder
Demographics
74y, male
Date of death
2022-10-29
Finding date
2024-04-18
Cause of death
Small bowel obstruction due to extensive intra-abdominal adhesions
AI-generated summary
Timothy Funder, a 74-year-old man with schizophrenia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and previous small bowel obstruction, died from small bowel obstruction due to extensive intra-abdominal adhesions. He presented with vomiting, abdominal cramping, and bloating at 1:30am at his supported residential facility. Staff assessed him but did not recognise the severity or arrange urgent medical evaluation. He was found unresponsive four hours later near the bathroom. The clinical lesson is that acute onset vomiting with abdominal distension and cramping in a patient with previous bowel obstruction requires immediate medical assessment and likely hospital referral, not symptomatic management alone. Early recognition and escalation to emergency services could potentially have altered the outcome.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
Drugs involved
Contributing factors
- Coronary artery atherosclerosis
- Pulmonary emphysema
- Previous small bowel obstruction with surgical resection in 2007
- Failure to recognise severity of acute symptoms and escalate to medical evaluation
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