Man tried to climb tree to hang self, falls and becomes quadriplegic

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegrap...001028,00.html

Would-be suicider fails in hospital sue bid
By Alyssa Braithwaite

May 25, 2007 12:00


A man left quadriplegic after falling from a tree in an aborted suicide attempt has failed in his bid to sue a hospital for not properly treating his mental health problems.

Timothy Walker fractured his spine after falling from a tree in the backyard of his Glenbrook home in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, in March 2001.

The then 19-year-old climbed the tree to hang himself just 11 days after being discharged from the Pialla Unit, a psychiatric wing of Nepean Hospital, following a previous suicide attempt.

Mr Walker had consumed at least two long-neck bottles of beer that afternoon and spoke of ending his life.

His brother tried to demonstrate what the family had endured due to his sibling's mental problems by pretending he wanted to hang himself from a tree in their backyard. But Mr Walker grabbed the noose and climbed the tree himself.

Mr Walker said he experienced a moment of clarity once he got to the top of the tree.

"Things just didn't seem as hard as they did before, and just I felt better, better than I had for a long time and so I started climbing down,'' he told the court.

But he fell to the ground while making his way down from the 10-metre high tree and fractured his spine.

On learning he was a quadriplegic, Mr Walker told the court he felt "almost like I had lost my life, but I was still alive at the same time''.

Mr Walker sued the Sydney West Health Service for negligence, claiming not enough was done to care for him prior to the accident.

He claimed the hospital should have prescribed him anti-depressant or anti-psychotic medication, counselled him and detained him as an involuntary patient for at least two weeks for assessment.

But NSW Supreme Court Justice Carolyn Simpson today dismissed Mr Walker's negligence lawsuit, ruling that Sydney West Area Health Service staff had not failed to act "in a manner that ... was widely accepted in Australia by peer professional opinion as competent professional practice''.

Justice Simpson found hospital doctors had assessed Mr Walker and decided not to give him anti-depressants because he refused to give up drinking alcohol, which could cause a reaction with the medication.

She also found the health service conducted home visits after his discharge, during which he reported feeling better.

Justice Simpson ordered Mr Walker to pay the health service's legal costs.

[bulletsponge]

LOL!!





ohh wait am i allowed to laugh at him?

[JediKooter]

DOH! Good thing he didn't pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals or his dad would be suing whoever planted the tree.