Man Tries To Hang Himself - Falls Out Of Tree - Becomes Quadriplegic - Sues Hospital

[matcom]

<snip>

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.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21792985-5001028,00.html

[raccoon]

1. Hope he loses the suit. nt

[matcom]

2. he did

first sentence ;)

[raccoon]

3. Thanks, matcom. Guess I might have looked at the article. :silly: nt

[keithjx]

4. Most Important Detail?

The beer was from a long-neck bottle.
That's why I buy and drink my beer in growlers only.
KJ

[Zywiec]

5. Wow, he consumed at least two long-neck bottles of beer

How was he able to even climb a tree after all that alcohol!

[Orrex]

6. Well, at least he's unlikely to try to hang himself again

File that under "silver lining," I guess...

[JVS]

7. someone could write a very dark comedy out of this about doctor assisted suicide being illegal

[Initech]

8. Any sane civilization shouldn't allow people to sue for their own stupidity.