Coronial
VIChospital

Finding into death of James Robert Burns

Deceased

James Robert Burns

Demographics

62y, male

Date of death

2023-01-25

Finding date

2024-11-13

Cause of death

Pulmonary oedema and aspiration in the setting of Down Syndrome and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

AI-generated summary

James Robert Burns, a 62-year-old man with Down syndrome and COPD, died from pulmonary oedema and aspiration at Sunshine Hospital. He was an NDIS participant residing in specialist disability accommodation with support workers. Following a deterioration in health, he attended his local GP on 24 January 2023 and was transferred to hospital where he developed a third-degree atrioventricular block. He died the following day. The coroner found no evidence of inadequate clinical management by either the supported independent living provider or hospital staff. The death was confirmed as natural causes. No systemic failures or preventable factors were identified.

AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.

Contributing factors

  • Down Syndrome
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
  • Third-degree atrioventricular block
  • Progression of Alzheimer's disease
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 —