Fatigue from tough call hours triggered his fatal epilepsy:
The Medical Panel found Dr Nettelbeck was working from 4.30pm on December 3, 2004, to 12.30am on December 4. He was then on call until 8am.He had done the same shift, including being on call, for the previous 12 days. He had been called in five times.
Dr Nettelbeck was staying in accommodation provided by the hospital during the on-call period when he was found dead about noon on December 4, 2004.
A medical panel found that Dr Nettelbeck’s work roster contributed to sleep deprivation and irritability, which aggravated his epilepsy, causing his death.
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“Dr Peter Nettelbeck, 28, was a qualified medical practitioner working at the Latrobe Hospital in Traralgon when he was found dead in a bed after working regular long hours and being on call during the night.
In the County Court yesterday, the Latrobe Regional Hospital agreed to pay Dr Nettelbeck’s widow, Katherine, a lump sum $186,650 and his children — Elizabeth, 2, and Jeremy, 4, — $10,370 each. Elizabeth was born a month after Dr Nettelbeck died.
The family will also receive interest and funeral costs.
Mrs Nettelbeck will also receive a pension for the next three years and the two children will receive pensions until they are no longer considered dependants. The payments are the maximum under the Victorian WorkCover Act.”
It is very interesting to see how things work in another country, in this case Australia. A doctor’s life and the economic damages sustained aren’t worth much in this socialized system. It makes the arguments against noneconomic damage caps in the US laughable. The total amount this family will receive for what is surely many millions of dollars in economic damages (which are not subject to caps in the US) is less than the caps on noneconomic damages being sought in the US. We are all so special here indeed!
I wonder if Dr. Nettlebeck had a cervical adjustment quick before he expired? hmmmmm
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