Coroner's Finding: Frith, Aaron Douglas

36y · Male·pulmonary embolism due to right deep vein thrombosis following repair of ruptured right Achilles tendon

Aaron Frith, a 36-year-old man with obesity and hypertension, sustained a ruptured right Achilles tendon on 28 August 2018. He underwent surgical repair on 15 September 2018 and was discharged on aspirin prophylaxis. He developed a right deep vein thrombosis leading to a saddle pulmonary embolism, collapsing on 18 September and dying on 20 September 2018 in ICU. The coroner found that given Frith's obesity (a recognised VTE risk factor), individualised prophylactic anticoagulation should have been prescribed rather than aspirin alone. The case highlights the need for risk-stratified thromboprophylaxis in immobilised Achilles tendon patients, particularly those with obesity.