By Elia Petzierides
It is a well-established and widely-known fact that when it comes to driving, speed kills. But does that make low-speed harmless? To answer this question, let’s get behind the steering wheel and go on three, short, low-speed journeys. These journeys all occurred within the state of Victoria, Australia during 2011. Continue reading
By Elia Petzierides
Sixty-year-old Joan Williams (a psudonym) had just parked her black BMW in a parallel parking space on Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia on March 17, 2010. Mrs Williams picked up her handbag from the passenger seat, checked her mirror then opened the drivers door, inadvertently striking 22-year-old cyclist James Cross who was riding to university. Mr Cross was propelled onto the road and in between the carriages of a passing Mack truck towing a five tonne Hercules Tipper. The truck driver heard a bang and looked in his mirror to see Mr Cross being run over by the trailer. Mr Cross died instantly.
Continue reading
By Elia Petzierides
It was a hectic morning for Andrea Boe, mother of two and matriarch of a self-described average American family with both parents working full time. Before arriving at work on 28th June 2006 she had fed her youngest daughter – five-month-old Kate Lola Boe – and dressed her in a new pink dress.
Continue reading
By Elia Petzierides
October 2013 in Perth, Western Australia, the father of an eleven-month-old child went to pick up his son from childcare. The staff advised him his child had not been dropped off that day, leaving the father confused as to the whereabouts of his child. Upon returning to his vehicle the father found his son buckled up in his child seat – deceased. Continue reading
By Elia Petzierides
Six hours after 19-year-old Adam Fabre presented to the emergency department with fever, neck pain and vomiting, his mother voiced her objection as the doctor tried to discharge him home. Soon after, Mr Fabre became unconscious, began to convulse, and died the next day. How did the medical team fail to identify the severity of his illness and what can be done to prevent a re-occurrence?
Weighing-in on Ruby’s fluid management
By Elia Petzierides
Yesterday, following a groundswell of comments about the amount of fluid administered to Ruby Chen as described in our recent article about her preventable death, I contacted the Queensland Coroner’s Court. I stated the concerns raised regarding the amount of fluid administered to Ruby throughout the duration of her care.
Today, while I was resting before my night shift, Coroner David O’Connell – Ruby’s Coroner – called me to discuss these concerns. He spoke with the predictably serious, flat-toned voice you would expect of a Coroner on a television show. Continue reading
By Elia Petzierides
It’s safe to say we are overwhelmed with the international response to our article about The preventable death of 3-year-old Ruby Chen and we are glad the message is out there. While the topic of the article is obviously not a laughing matter, we are going to take a look – and maybe a laugh – at some of our favorite online comments. Continue reading
We are coming to a grinding halt
By Elia Petzierides
With their 1970 song Roadhouse Blues, The Doors instructed you to “Keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel”. Forty-five years later and this is still salient advice. Driving is one of those tasks we perform so regularly that we can easily forget the importance of seemingly minor details, like keeping your eyes on the road. This Grave Lesson provides us all with a tragic reminder of grand proportions. Continue reading
“The preventable death of three year old Ruby Chen”
By Elia Petzierides
The recent media coverage of the Queensland Coroner’s Inquest into the death of three year old Ruby Chen has left me perplexed. As a Registered Nurse working in paediatric critical care and a paramedic with over ten years experience this case unsettles me – how could something as simple and common as administering a bag of fluid go so catastrophically wrong? And as the parent of a three year old this case frightens me to the bone – how can a child with a seemingly minor and common illness be pronounced deceased shortly after a routine aeromedical transfer? Continue reading
Ruby Chen died at the age of three during an aero-medical inter-hospital transfer. After her death it was discovered that she was inadvertently administered Continue reading
GraveLessons.com 