Inquest into the death of Michaela Perrin

26y · Female·sepsis

Michaela Perrin, 26, died from sepsis arising from a post-caesarean wound infection caused by MRSA on 22 October 2014. She presented to the Emergency Department on 20 October with severe pain, tachycardia (125 bpm), and fever. Dr P., the obstetrics registrar, conducted an inadequate assessment without reviewing notes, palpating the abdomen, or taking vital signs, and discharged her with analgesia alone. When Michaela returned on 21 October with obvious signs of sepsis (fever 39.3°C, severe pain, abdominal swelling), Dr P. finally recognised possible infection but kept this assessment undisclosed. Although antibiotics were eventually commenced, critical failures included: absent documentation, failure to take cultures until late, absence of IV fluids despite ordering them, poor handover to night staff, inadequate ward observations, and lack of recognition of sepsis severity. The coroner found her death was potentially avoidable with timely sepsis recognition, immediate admission, blood cultures, inflammatory markers, imaging, empirical antibiotics and IV fluids on day 1.