Coronial
WAhospital

Inquest into the Death of Child TJW

Deceased

Child TJW

Demographics

7y, female

Date of death

2018-07-12

Finding date

2019-12-20

Cause of death

aspiration pneumonia leading to multi-organ failure in a female child with complex medical history including cerebral palsy, hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy, microcephaly, seizure disorder and airway obstruction

AI-generated summary

A child with severe cerebral palsy, hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy, microcephaly and seizure disorder died of aspiration pneumonia leading to multi-organ failure. Born with severe perinatal brain injury, she had complex lifelong medical needs including airway management with nasopharyngeal airway, supplementary oxygen, and seizure control. Initially cared for at home with Department support, concerns about malnutrition and respiratory distress in 2016 led to placement in specialist residential care at Lady Lawley Cottage. Her medical management was consistently high-standard with multidisciplinary input. In July 2018, she presented with chest infection, uncontrolled seizures and respiratory distress. Recognizing end-of-life status, the treating team appropriately transitioned to palliative care with family involvement. The coroner found no deficiencies in medical care, supervision or treatment provided by either hospital or Department services. This case demonstrates appropriate end-of-life management in a child with severe neurological impairment.

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

Contributing factors

  • severe spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy
  • hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy from perinatal brain injury
  • microcephaly
  • seizure disorder
  • chronic airway obstruction
  • recurrent respiratory infections
  • difficulty managing copious upper airway secretions
  • end-stage disease progression
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 —