Vili Milisits’ family considers legal action over doctor’s ruling

The family of the beloved South Australian baker is considering legal action after criticism of a doctor in state parliament following his death.

The family of Adelaide pie king Vili Milisits is considering legal action over his death following criticism in state parliament of one of his doctors.

Mr Milisits’ daughter, Alison Milisits, said the well-known South Australian family would “reserve our right to take legal action”.

It came a day after SA-Best MLC Frank Pangallo criticised the medical treatment of a doctor who assessed Mr Milisits as being unsuitable to be put on Melbourne’s The Alfred Hospital transplant list in June last year.

Mr Pangallo told parliament that Mr Milisits was subjected to “disturbing, dis­graceful, upsetting and traum­atic developments in the final months” of his life.

Vili Milisits. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

He tabled a series of documents that showed Mr Milisits had previously been identified as a good candidate for a lung transplant by the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH).

Ms Milisits said her father was so angry about the subsequent long battle to disprove the diagnosis and get on the transplant list that he wanted the family to take legal action after his death.

“We are saying we reserve our right to take legal action over this and we back everything Frank has said in parliament,’’ she said.

“It was such a major setback and it affected all of us because we then had great fears for his health.

SA-Best MLC Frank Pangallo Picture: Keryn Stevens

“There was 53 years of proof that he was mentally fit to run a business of 300 people and it was very confronting.

“Frank expressed the feelings of the family precisely and has accurately told the story of what Dad went through for nine months after this doctor saw him.”

The family is also understood to be investigating medical disciplinary action over the diagnosis.

In June last year, Mr Milisits and his family began a long struggle using Adelaide medical experts to reject the doctor’s assessment, which cited him as having an IQ of 84.

Ms Milisits said 300 workers were prepared to sign a statement that he was fully mentally competent to run the business. The referral to the specialist was made by the RAH, which remained sympathetic to Mr Milisits and has not been criticised.

After several doctors disputed the finding of possible indications of Alzheimer’s disease, Mr Milisits was accepted for a lung transplant in March by St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney.

But it was too late to save his life and he died of unrelated complications.

The doctor at the centre of the criticisms and The Alfred Hospital have both been contacted for comment.