- A young boxer died after putting his trust in his doctors
- George Diamond passed away in February 2019
- He told his father he was ‘overly concerned’
When George Diamond was on his way home from the hospital with persistent headaches, he told his father that he was overly concerned and should have more trust in the doctors treating him.
Two months later, the 18-year-old boxer died at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne from a bleed on his brain. An autopsy revealed it was an older subdural haemorrhage.
An investigation into the link between Diamond’s October 2018 head injury and his February 2019 death after collapsing at the Sting Gym found that doctors missed multiple opportunities to detect the bleeding after failing to order brain scans despite his persistent symptoms.
Mr Diamond visited two GPs with his father after being punched in the groin and head at Cranbourne West gym on October 25.
Both doctors sent him away without performing a CT scan or MRI.
Mr Diamond was prescribed Panadol and Nurofen after visiting Dr Pejman Hajbabaie, who noticed his head wound was not improving six days after visiting another GP.
When Mr Diamond’s symptoms persisted, his father, Vic Diamond, took him to Frankston Hospital on November 5. He begged emergency physician Dr Yigal Reuben to perform a CT scan or MRI for his son.
Dr Reuben diagnosed Mr Diamond with a concussion but said scans were not necessary and advised against playing sports while symptoms persisted.
A father has revealed the tragic words his son told him before he died
George Diamond’s family is searching for answers after his death at age 18
Vic Diamond said he will live with regret that he did not take his son to a fourth doctor.
“On the way home I said to him, ‘Georgie, maybe you should take a break from boxing,'” Vic Diamond said.
But his son told him that the trainers at the gym and the various doctors had approved him.
“You’re overly concerned. We have to trust what the doctors say,” he told his father.
The teenager was medically suspended from the Sting Gym after the concussion in October, but resumed regular training in late December 2018 or early January 2019. After receiving a fitness certificate from Dr. Hajbabaie, he increased his intensity.
On February 18, 2019, Mr. Diamond collapsed at the gym and died in hospital three days later.
Coroner John Cain released his findings Monday that Dr. Hajbabaie and Dr. Reuben should have ordered Mr. Diamond to undergo a CT scan on multiple occasions.
“If a CT scan had been done on November 5, 2018, there is a good chance that it would have shown that George had a subdural hematoma,” he said.
He also found that the notes Dr Hajbabaie had made of his two appointments in October 2018 and January 2019 were far from adequate. This contributed to his decision to reject Mr Diamond’s return to boxing, despite his ongoing complaints.
“Parents’ opinions should matter when it comes to the well-being and health of their own child,” said Vic Diamond.
The young boxer told his father that he had confidence in his doctors
The boxer’s mother, Shayla, remembers him as a caring and cheerful person who was there for others in difficult times. After his grandmother passed away, he decided to live with his elderly grandfather.
“It’s a huge loss – from my father to our youngest son, from all of us – it’s been a complete, horrific nightmare,” she said.
The coroner recommended stricter requirements for people who are allowed to take up amateur combat sports for the first time and those who are allowed to return after an injury.
He urged key bodies representing neurosurgeons, general practitioners and sports and exercise physicians to develop mandatory training on medical clearance for people entering or returning from a combat sport injury, and to develop guidelines on the appropriate threshold for undergoing a CT or MRI scan of the brain following an injury in boxing or mixed martial arts.