FRACTURED SKULL

Northern Advocate, 24 October 1935, Page 2

FRACTURED SKULL

WOMAN’S DEATH

CORONER INVESTIGATES DOCTORS EXONERATED. t Special to “NoTthevn Advocate. 1 AUCKLAND, This Day.

The circumstances of the death of an old-age pensioner, .Catherine Cronin, aged 63, on October 1, three days after her discharge from the Auckland Hospital were inquired into yesterday afternoon by Mr F. K. Hunt, S.M., who concluded the inquest at the Magistrate’s Court. , Deceased lived alone at No. 11, we •! Street, Newton. At 5.10 p.m. on September , 27, whilst, crossing. Karanga■hope Road, and when between two sets of tram rails, she was struck by an outward-bound tramcar. Miss Cronin was removed to the Auckland Hospi tal, but was discharged, at her own Request, on September 30. She was seen at her home by her sister the same afternoon at 4.40 p,m., but -later the same night she went to the home of Mrs Martha Nadin, Cross Street. Mrs Nadin put her to bed. At 5 a.m. the following day, when Mrs Nadin called Miss Cronin she got no response. She went to the Newton; Police station and. .returned with Sergeant Ebbett, who forced the door of Miss Cronin s room to find her,; dead, lying in the same position as she was the previous night. Fit To Go put. Dr J. W. Craven, medical superintendent of the Auckland Hospital, said he interviewed Miss Cronin in the ; ward before her discharge. She expressed a very keen desire to go home, and stated quite good reasons for wishing to do so. She gave an account 1 of her stay in the hospital, and was able to give him the day of the week upon which he was interviewing her and the time, so witness was satisfied that sp far as it was possible to tell she was' fit to go but. She was sent to her home in a hospital car, accomp£mied:by a nurse, because she did not Havens taxi fare with her. -

Mr . Hunt: “Well, doctor, I find this woman died next day from a pretty bad fracture of the'Skull. How was it that she was allowed to leave the hospital with a fractured skull?’-—-“There vyas no indication to any medical man of any damage to her brain. She died from laceration of the brain. She was quite rational when I spoke to her for 15 minutes,” Large or Small Fracture? Mr Hunt: “Have you seen Dr Gilmour’s report of the post mortem?” — ••No. bht he told me it was a very small fracture.” ‘Mr Hunt: “Here it is. Read it. It v.fas a y.bry extensive fracture.” J. Dr Craven read the reports ■ “There was no indication when 1 spoke', to her for a long while in the ward before her discharge,’’ he said.

Mr Hunt:'“Well, how did the fractured skull escape the examination?” doctor would not see it. 3

“Whht about an X-ray?”—“ln due course, perhaps, the. fracture, would have been apparent. Not every patient is X-rayed. , .The surgical :staff select cases for X-ray.; This fracture would not have showed up in time. There was nothing whatever in this case to lead to the suspicion of a fractured skull—nothing in the woman’s demeanour to show that there was any real danger.” Time For X-ray;

.‘Well, Doctor, when is it necessary to X-ray a skull?’—“Some days afterwards, when the bruising goes down, if -she had been ■ unconscious—deeply unconscious for any length of time. IrC'this case there were no cerebral symptoms at all'. . Had this woman be;cn irrational, I would haVe kept her in hospital.”

Mr Hunt: *T suppose you get ihany such head cases in hospital?”—“Yes, hundreds. We always keep them overnight, in case anything develops. This wornan was in hospital three days, and she appeared quite all right before her discharge. I don’t think the fracture had anything to do with the cause of death. It was due to laceration of the brain. I know of one case where a person died eight months after injury through laceration of the brain.” “Great Neglect.” A sister, of deceased then asked Dr. Craven why no X-ray was made. . Mr Hunt told the woman that he had asked . Dr Graven that, and that Dr .Craven had replied, she was quite rational and, that ther.e were no symptoms) of a fracture, otherwise he would have had her X-rayed.

“Well, I think is was unsatisfactory and' a great neglect on the part of the hospital,” said deceased’s sister?

Dr Craven: “I considered this case very carefully. I spoke to sie woman for 15 minutes before she was discharged. I, cannot detain patients against their wish. On her condition I could not; detain this woman.”

Mr Hunt: “If you found another case like this tomorrow, would you let the patient go out without an X-raythink I would adopt the normal procedure, as in this case.”

Conscious and Rational

Dr D. W. Guthrie said deceased was quite conscious and rational when examined by him. She had a fracture of the left collarbone, and v/as bleeding from a wound in the forehead.

‘T regarded her condition as concussion, complicated by alcoholism,” he said.

Mr Hunt: “What about the fractured skull?” — t‘A fractured skull calls for no immediate treatment unless it is a depressed fracture. This was not a depressed fracture, and the treatment was confined to hemorrhage, resulting from superficial injuries on the fore-

head, also irritability. After that night the woman was not under my care.”

No One To Blame.

After evidence of tramway men had been given, Mr Hunt said he was satisfied that the occurrence was purely accidental.

“From the doctors’ evidence it seems that there was the unfortunate woman’s demeanour to warrant her being detained at the hospital,” ho added. “This was hot a depressed fracture. There is the further fact that an ordinary fracture of the skull never requires any treatment. I cannot hold that anyone was to blame at the hospital. Her condition was suoT? that it did not alarm her sister the day she was discharged.” A verdict that death was due to a fractured skull and laceration of the brain, resulting from injuries accidentally received through being struck by a tramcar was returned.