Deaths of mother and newborn baby on same day not preventable

Monday, 13 July 2026

Samantha Maree Whyman, 29, and her newborn son, Harrison Justin Earnshaw, both died at Palmerston North Hospital on April 13, 2024.

A coroner found the deaths were not preventable at the time, as Whyman suffered a cardiac arrest caused by advanced, chronic coronary artery disease.

The emergency department experienced a delay in communicating elevated troponin test results to clinicians before Whyman collapsed.

The case has been referred to the Health and Disability Commissioner to assess if care met professional standards, following a Serious Adverse Event Review by Health New Zealand.

A 29-year-old mother and her newborn son died on the day of his birth following an unpreventable cardiac arrest, a coroner has found.

Samantha Maree Whyman and baby Harrison Justin Earnshaw both died at Palmerston North Hospital on April 13, 2024. Harrison lived for just 38 minutes.

In findings released by Coroner I A Telford, expert clinical advice was accepted that Whyman would have died “even in a best-case scenario” due to advanced, widespread and chronic coronary artery disease.

“Those services are unavailable at Palmerston North Hospital,” the coroner’s chief clinical advisor, Dr G Clearwater, noted in his report regarding the angioplasty or urgent open-heart surgery required to definitively treat the condition.

The medical evidence showed Whyman had previously suffered a silent heart attack and her pregnancy was a major complicating factor that increased bleeding risks. Harrison’s premature birth in that context meant a similar outcome for him was likely, the findings stated.

“Samantha and Harrison’s death was not preventable at the material time,” Coroner Telford concluded.

Whyman had visited her GP earlier that day to have a cyst drained in her armpit. An hour later, she complained of feeling unwell with chest pain, a fever, and shivering, and was taken to the hospital’s emergency department.

While in the emergency department, Whyman had a generalised headache, a high temperature, and severe chest pain. Tests revealed an elevated troponin level, but there was a delay in communicating this information to clinicians.

At 2.48pm, Whyman collapsed. Despite immediate resuscitation efforts, she could not be revived and her death was verified at 4.15pm.

Harrison was delivered via emergency caesarean section at around 3.10pm. Doctors noted a heart rate but no respiratory effort, concluding he had been deprived of oxygen for a long period prior to delivery and had likely suffered severe brain damage.

Senior clinicians agreed that continuing aggressive treatment would be futile, and resuscitation was discontinued at 3.48pm.

A post-mortem examination determined Whyman’s primary cause of death was acute myocardial infarction due to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The axillary abscess noted earlier did not contribute to her death, and toxicology reports were unremarkable. Harrison’s cause of death was recorded as perinatal asphyxia.

Health New Zealand MidCentral completed a Serious Adverse Event Review in June 2025 and has implemented or is about to implement changes to strengthen clinical care.

However, because the agency did not respond to the specific clinical opinions that led to those recommendations, the coroner noted there was no consensus on what, if anything, went wrong during the care episode.

Because the deaths were legally determined to be non-preventable at the material time, the coroner lacked jurisdiction to issue formal recommendations.

Coroner Telford has referred the case to the Health and Disability Commissioner to assess whether services were provided safely and in line with professional standards.

The coroner praised the “splendid” advocacy of the family over the two-year inquiry, noting their efforts had directly led to lessons being learned to strengthen future care.