MOTHER’S GRIEF

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LX, Issue 10827, 26 March 1932, Page 3

MOTHER’S GRIEF

“You Killed My Boy.”

peat* l from snake bite

Gosford. March 11. dramatic scene occurred outside A ourt to-day when the coroner k Kirkness.t opened an in(.*T i„t o the death of Raymond i Barham. 13. of Tuggerah Entrance from the bite of a uLfe snake on Mat ch mother of the dead boy was kniing outside the court and as a pasestl she said, sobbing dlv “don't t 0 m °- Y ° n jfledVv child!" The man did not reP The mother, a near figure in black id the coroner between sobs that W she entered the fernery, slip saw fblarls thing which site thought was 3 Her daughter screamed and as he turned she saw a snake and fell. dunning herself. 61 Son Bitten.

While c he "'as being treated. Raymond came in ami said. “I have L n bitten.” Mrs Barnham said hat the boy then ran to the bouse of q r Freeman- rul ambulance officer, tfho scoured the wound, applied Condy’s crystals and a rubber ligate (hen took the boy in a ’inis to n r Robinson, who said “lake that i.vature off.” Mr Freeman protestf hut the doctor insisted. Henry George Barham father of Aye evidence that when Dr Robinson was told the boy had been bitten sya black snake, he said people did not die from that. The doctor said later, “he will he all right. Take that ligature off, he won't die.” Dr. Arthur Robinson, practising at The Entrance, said that when he saw the boy’s leg it was very black. There was no object in leaving ligatures on. He cauterised, the wound and had the ligatures removed. The condition of the boy was very good, except that he vomited once. Mortality Low. He was not concerned at the moment, as mortality from black snakes was very low. “A tight ligature should not be left on longer than half an hour,” he said. “If tightly applied and deft on longer than half an hour, it might give the patient enough shock to kill. “I am not going to allow a patient out of my surgery with a tight ligature. If the leg were paralysed they might take an action against me.” Dr Robinson denied that, he had said that the black snake was not venomous.

Dr Sydney Dwyer, of Gosford, said that when he saw the boy, the latter was. very ill. He asked where the ligature was, and gathered that it had not. been on half an hour. He treated the boy, took him to hospital and sp? him twice during the night. The boy died next morning. Sergeant Lake: Should the ligature have been removed in half an hour? _Xo. According to Dr Kelleway, the expert in Australia, it should be released for a minute after half an hour, then tightened for another oj:liter of an hour, and so on for two hours.

The coroner: Has everything been done properly?—Yes, if Dr Robinson was right In thinking that the ligature had been on half an hour. Bat I would have left it on two hours. Which is right?—l think my treatment is right. Would you say that death was hastened by the removal of the ligaurc? —Leonid not say that. Dr Dwyer told the coroner that he would not say that any negligence or carelessness contributed to the death.. Dr Robinson may have made an error of judgment. To Sergeant Lake, Dr Dwyer said he had never known of a case: in which a doctor had removed a ligature in half an hour. The' Coroner returned a verdict of death by snake bite, adding, “that’s all.’ ’