Inquest begins into death of 72-year-old in September at Queen Elizabeth hospital in Adelaide

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A former Socceroo died in hospital because his urinary catheter was wrongly connected to an oxygen supply, leading to a burst bladder and collapsed lungs, a coroner has heard.

An inquest is being held into the death of Steve Herczeg at Adelaide’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital on 19 September.

“The coroner will hear that Mr Herczeg’s oxygen supply was incorrectly connected, resulting in his bladder inflating with oxygen, then bursting and his lungs collapsing from the pressure of the oxygen,” counsel assisting Naomi Kereru told the South Australian coroner’s court on Monday.

The court heard Herczeg, 72, played for Australia in the country’s first attempt to qualify for the World Cup, was admitted to hospital because he had had a fall and was having hallucinations.

He was also suffering from a urinary tract infection, for which a catheter had already been inserted, but was considered clinically stable when admitted to the respiratory ward and placed on oxygen therapy, Kereru said.

Soon after his admission, a nurse heard screams of pain coming from Herczeg’s room and a code blue was called. An emergency team attempted to resuscitate him but was unsuccessful.

The doctor who performed the autopsy found Herczeg’s bladder had ruptured and his lungs had collapsed, causing his death by “respiratory failure”.

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“I understand his oxygen supply somehow became connected to his catheter,” forensic pathologist Stephen Wills told the court.

“The bladder ruptured, allowing the gas into the rest of his body.”

Wills said it was highly unusual for the tubes to be mixed up the way they were.

“I’ve never come across it before,” he said.

He said it would have been “quite painful” when Herczeg’s bladder burst and while the former footballer was suffering from respiratory disease, the injuries would probably have killed any healthy person.

Hungarian-born Herczeg was part of the 20-man squad for Australia’s first World Cup qualifying matches, against North Korea in 1965. The two teams met in Cambodia, with the Koreans winning 9-2 on aggregate over two matches to clinch the last spot in the 1966 finals in England.

Herczeg played in the second game, which Australia lost 3-1, in front of 55,000 fans in Phnom Penh.