A coroner cannot determine whether a 17-year-old boy who suffered a severe allergic reaction to a home-delivered meal would have survived if he was given adrenaline sooner.
James Tsindos, who had asthma and a tree nut allergy, experienced anaphylaxis on the afternoon of May 27, 2021, after eating a vegan burrito bowl ordered off the now-defunct Deliveroo app.
The meal, unbeknown to him, contained a sauce made from cashews and James began experiencing allergy symptoms, including swollen lips, nausea, tingling in the throat and abdominal cramps.
His father called an ambulance and paramedics arrived at their Brighton home in Melbourne‘s southeast about 2.50pm.
James, who had not been diagnosed with anaphylaxis or prescribed an EpiPen, received two doses of adrenaline five minutes apart and he was transferred to the nearby Holmesglen Private Hospital as a precaution.
As he arrived at the hospital about 3.44pm, he told the paramedics he was ‘wheezy’ and he used his asthma puffer.
At 4.10pm, James’ condition deteriorated and he was administered a third dose of adrenaline but he still had trouble breathing.
He was transferred to the resuscitation ward and within a minute became unresponsive before entering cardiac arrest.
James Tsindos experienced anaphylaxis in 2021 after eating a burrito bowl
The Tsindos family with James (far right) before his death in 2021
Shari Liby (centre), Slater and Gordon Medical Law Legal Counsel, speaks to media with the teenager’s family outside the Coroners Court
Doctors and nurses tried to resuscitate James and he was transferred to The Alfred but never recovered.
His life support was turned off on May 29.
An inquest into James’ death was held in October 2024 and coroner Sarah Gebert on Friday delivered her findings.
She determined while James might have survived if he was administered the third dose of adrenaline sooner, she could not be certain.
Ms Gebert noted a panel of experts had reviewed the case and had differing opinions on James’ ultimate prognosis.
The coroner said she could not side with a particular expert on whether James’ death was preventable.
‘I express my regret to the family that I am unable to do so,’ she said.
Ms Gebert made eight recommendations, including that the Department of Health update its guidelines around anaphylaxis management.
The Tsindos family’s barrister Paul Halley previously said that the family had grave concerns about the method in which the burrito bowl was advertised on Deliveroo.
‘It made it very difficult to find any mention that cashews were any part of the make up of the dish,’ he said.
‘I’m sure if I went to a restaurant to eat a burrito it would be plastered all over the place that this contains cashews.’
