Finding into death of Wayne Ronald Watson

61y · Male·Intracranial haemorrhage and myocardial infarct

A 61-year-old man with extensive cardiac disease collapsed at a supermarket, striking his head and losing consciousness for less than 10 seconds. Paramedics identified STEMI and administered heparin on advice from Austin Hospital's cardiology team despite concerns about the head injury. He was taken directly to the cardiac catheterisation lab without ED assessment or CT brain imaging. A skull fracture and intracranial haemorrhage subsequently developed, likely exacerbated by anticoagulation. The coroner found that while the urgent cardiac intervention was appropriate, the head injury assessment was inadequately documented and not undertaken by staff trained in trauma management. A cardiology registrar without head injury expertise made the decision to proceed without neuroimaging based on undocumented clinical assessment. The case highlights the need for formal, documented head injury risk assessment by appropriately trained staff in complex presentations.