78y · Female·Tension pneumothorax (surgically managed) due to aspiration pneumonia (bronchosc…
78-year-old woman with severe COPD and type 2 respiratory failure underwent elective melanoma surgery at a private day hospital (North Lakes Day Hospital) despite being classified as ASA 4 (unsuitable for day surgery). T…
39y · Female·Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy due to cardiorespiratory arrest due to methadon…
A 39-year-old woman with opioid dependency died from methadone toxicity following cardiac arrest. She had been prescribed up to six take-away doses of 120mg methadone per week by her GP under Queensland's Opioid Treatmen…
71y · Male·Complications following a right hepatic artery injury following an open cholecys…
A 71-year-old man with myelofibrosis and prior abdominal surgery died from complications of a right hepatic artery injury during open cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis. The operative decision was reasonable and the…
26y · Male·Multi-organ failure due to pneumococcal septic shock
A 26-year-old man presented with chest and abdominal pain, initially diagnosed with possible hepatitis based on elevated liver function tests. He developed an atypical blanched rash not recognised as varicella zoster (ch…
73y · Male·Complications of cervical fractures and spinal injury (operated), sustained in a…
A 73-year-old man with multiple comorbidities (diabetes, cardiac disease, liver cancer) slipped on wet tiles outside McDonald's and sustained cervical and thoracic spine fractures with spinal cord injury. Attending param…
23y · Female·hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy and aspiration pneumonia as a result of hanging
BQ was a 23-year-old Aboriginal woman who died by hanging on the Paringa Ward at Cumberland Hospital while detained as an involuntary mental health patient. She had a complex psychiatric history with schizophrenia and bo…
46y · Female·Hepatic encephalopathy due to decompensated Child-Pugh C cirrhosis and meningiti…
This combined coronial finding examines three deaths at the Centre for National Resilience (CNR), a COVID-19 quarantine facility in Howard Springs. Ms Dick died from rapidly progressive melioidosis. David Hardy died from…
88y · Female·Complications of cholecystectomy surgery
Margaret Mariani, 88, died from complications of laparoscopic cholecystectomy for gallstone-induced pancreatitis. An iatrogenic small bowel perforation, likely caused by inadvertent suturing during closure, led to perito…
42y · Female·pneumonia with diffuse alveolar damage in the setting of mixed drug toxicity (Ba…
Allyson Bailey, a 42-year-old woman with complex polysubstance use disorder and borderline personality disorder, died from pneumonia with diffuse alveolar damage complicated by mixed drug toxicity (baclofen and pregabali…
82y · Female·Peritonitis due to leakage of bowel contents from bowel anastomosis following el…
Winifred Carpenter, 82, died 11 days after a right hemicolectomy for colon cancer from peritonitis due to anastomotic leak. Critical failures occurred on discharge day (10 March 2023): clinicians did not recognize her de…
Unknown·Panella: pulmonary thromboembolism due to left calf deep vein thrombosis; Skeffi…
Three South Australians died following extended waits on ambulance ramps outside metropolitan hospitals. Anna Panella (76) died from pulmonary thromboembolism; Bernard Skeffington (89) died from aspiration pneumonia afte…
78y · Female·Complications of prolonged immobility and malnutrition in a woman with retroperi…
A 78-year-old woman with schizophrenia, depression, and undiagnosed retroperitoneal lymphoma died from septic shock complicating severe pressure ulcers, malnutrition, and dehydration. She had been immobile on a couch for…
32y · Female·Head injuries in a motor vehicle incident
Helena Zoe Broadbent, a 32-year-old pregnant Aboriginal woman, died from severe head injuries sustained when her partner William Wilson drove off in a vehicle while she was partially inside it, causing her to be ejected …
76y · Female·multi-organ failure and sepsis due to complications of cholecystectomy
A 76-year-old woman died from multi-organ failure and sepsis following a laparoscopic cholecystectomy at a rural hospital. During surgery, the surgeon became misoriented in the inflamed surgical field and divided the com…
42y · Male·Multiple organ failure due to iatrogenic phenol overdose due to metastatic pancr…
A 42-year-old man with metastatic pancreatic cancer died from multiple organ failure caused by iatrogenic phenol overdose during a celiac plexus block for pain management. The radiologist administered 40ml of 80% phenol …
71y · Male·Subdural haemorrhage on a background of an unwitnessed fall and anticoagulation …
A 71-year-old man with diabetes, ischaemic heart disease and osteomyelitis presented with fever and hypoglycaemia. He met Red Zone sepsis criteria (lactate 4.5mmol/L) but antibiotics were significantly delayed—ceftriaxon…
67y · Male·Complications of pressure ulcers in the setting of a thoracic vertebral fracture…
Michael Young, 67, died from pressure ulcer complications following a spinal injury sustained during a CT scan on 3 January 2023. He had fallen from his wheelchair at home and presented to ED with hypotension and back pa…
35y · Male·multiple organ failure due to out-of-hospital circulatory arrest due to perforat…
35-year-old male died from multiple organ failure following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest caused by perforated duodenum. He was in police custody for drug-related charges and diagnosed with opioid withdrawal. Critical d…
41y · Female·frontal lobe ischaemic infarcts (strokes) caused by cerebral artery vasospasm co…
A 41-year-old woman died from frontal lobe ischaemic infarcts caused by cerebral vasospasm complicating subarachnoid haemorrhage from a ruptured aneurysm. She presented to multiple healthcare providers over five days wit…
69y · Male·septic shock with multi-organ failure in a man with neutropenic sepsis on a back…
Colin Nicholson, a 69-year-old man, died from septic shock with multi-organ failure due to acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Missed opportunities occurred at multiple levels: the PathWest laboratory scientist failed to refe…
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