Security guard on trial for manslaughter after elderly patient died
Brisbane AU July 11 2017 An 81-year-old man tried to stab a nurse in the face with a pen and attacked other staff with a fire hose before he was allegedly killed by a security guard, a court has heard.
Theodorus van der Veen was admitted to Brisbane’s Prince Charles Hospital in April 2016 for a possible bowel obstruction when he suddenly became violent.
Security guard Shane Kilgariff was charged with manslaughter after his attempt to restrain Mr van der Veen allegedly led to his death two weeks later.
Brisbane Magistrates Court today heard the agitated and confused Mr van der Veen first attacked a doctor who had tried to calm him down.
Dr Timothy van den Berg told a committal hearing Mr van der Veen twisted his arm behind his back after swinging around and throwing his IV pole.
Mr van der Veen also aggressively twisted a young female nurse’s arm and tried to stab a male nurse in the face with a pen.
He then backed himself into a dead-end and targeted staff with a fire hose.
“It was carnage” Dr van den Berg said.
The court heard Mr van der Veen flooded the corridor with about an inch of water, which was mixed with broken glass and ice from smashed paintings and a tipped-over ice machine.
Kilgariff is alleged to have restrained Mr van der Veen with a “rugby style tackle”, causing the pair to fall to the floor with a “thud”.
Dr van den Berg said Mr van der Veen showed no sign of head trauma immediately after the incident.
“He was cold, he was wet. Poor man was scared so I wanted to calm him down,” he said.
“My first thought was to give him some dignity, give him a blanket, move him to a chair.
“I didn’t walk away going ‘gee that security guard did something outside of what he should have done’.”
The hearing will continue on Tuesday.
