Child Safety ignored hospital warnings before girl's death, inquest hears
A coronial inquest into eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs's 2022 death heard Child Safety workers dismissed repeated hospital warnings she faced extremely high risk.
An inquest heard that Child Safety workers overrode strong warnings from hospital doctors about eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs. In 2019, Elizabeth was admitted to hospital minutes from death with undiagnosed diabetes.
Elizabeth was discharged to live with both parents even though Queensland Children's Hospital repeatedly warned she faced extremely high risk of death without insulin. Child Safety chose an intensive protection arrangement with parental agreement instead of court action.
Elizabeth died in January 2022. Her parents, who were members of a Toowoomba-based religious sect rejecting modern medicine, had stopped giving her insulin.
Both parents and 12 others are serving prison sentences for her manslaughter. The inquest is examining how the decision to send her home was made and approved.
Why it mattersThe case reveals critical failures in how government agencies weigh expert medical advice against parental wishes in child protection decisions, with fatal consequences.
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