An 11-year-old boy has tragically died from a snakebite in a death officials say could have been prevented. The incident happened in Australia.
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The reptile bit the young boy. But his father thinking he had ingested some of the family’s alcohol sent him to bed to sleep it off. The tragedy happened in 2021, but a new Coroners Court of Queensland inquest document is shining light on what happened.
11-year-old Tristian James Frahm died after going to bed. He suffered “extensive internal bleeding due to brown snake envenomation.”
“Brown snake venom can cause a venom induced consumption coagulopathy (VICC) which can lead to profound anticoagulation meaning the blood cannot clot normally. Major haemorrhage is rare in snakebite, occurring only in 3% of brown snake envenomations,” the document noted.
Boy Dies From Snakebite After Being Sent To Bed
According to coroner Ainslie Kirkegaard, Tristian’s father Kerrod was aware his son had got bitten by a snake. He fell onto the reptile after stumbling from a ride-on lawn mower. The family “checked him for bite marks but in the absence of any obvious puncture marks, and on being told Tristian had earlier consumed alcohol, they attributed his non-specific symptoms to the effects of alcohol.”
“Tristian’s death may have been prevented had he received early medical attention,” the findings stated.
Unfortunately, the young boy soon grew deathly ill from the snakebite.
“It can never be known to what extent Tristian was affected by alcohol, if at all, at that time. Toxicology performed on postmortem samples (femoral and subclavian blood, urine, stomach contents and vitreous [humor]) received on 22 November 2021 detected no alcohol,” the document stated.
However, officials noted they could also “see how the adults may have interpreted the suggestion Tristian had consumed alcohol as an explanation for not only his symptoms but also how he came off the mower and potentially banged his head.”
But the finds found that the boy would have likely survived the snakebite if he got medical attention. Following his death, Tristian’s father went to court on a manslaughter charge.
Ultiamtely, authorities dismissed this charge against him.