Death of Claus Burg from misdiagnosed cancer referred to State Coroner for investigation

The death of northern suburbs man Claus Burg from misdiagnosed cancer has been referred to the State Coroner for investigation.

Claus Burg and his wife Lynda at their Brahma Lodge home in July. Picture MATT TURNER.

THE death of a northern suburbs man following a cancer misdiagnosis has been referred to the State Coroner.

Claus Burg, 70, died in the early hours of Saturday morning after battling cancer for more than decade.

He was given the all clear in 2017 but a tiny spot, which was already showing on some scans, grew to become terminal stomach cancer.

It also spread to his liver prompting doctors to tell Mr Burg and his wife Lynda in late 2018 that he would only have a year or two to live.

The couple had spent 46 years together and were devastated by the news.

Mr Burg battled the pain for almost a year before succumbing to the cancer. His death has been referred to the State Coroner by the State Opposition for investigation and leaves unanswered questions about whether Mrs Burg will receive compensation for what was described by the couple as “medical negligence”.

In June this year Central Adelaide Local Health Network chief executive Lesley Dwyer said an internal investigation of Queen Elizabeth Hospital medical oncology and SA Medical Imaging had shown that the cancer should have been detected.

“This truly is a regrettable case and I apologise to Mr Burg and his family unreservedly,” she said at the time.

“To ensure this doesn’t happen in future, clinical staff have been reminded to adhere to both process and policies which dictate any significant or unexpected finding must be communicated with the referring clinician immediately.”

Opposition assistant health spokesman Blair Boyer, who had been liaising with the Burg family for months, said he had no other choice but to refer the matter to the Coroner to ensure there were no other misdiagnoses.

“It is a great shame that Claus has passed before he received that reassurance too,” Mr Boyer said.