Adam Burgess went to the doctor for a sore arm. Less than six months later, he was dead following surgeries that members of his family claim he never needed.
Now, his wife and two daughters are suing Dr David Hardman, who performed the surgeries, and the ACT government.
Mr Burgess was a horticulturalist and the curator of the living collections at the National Arboretum Canberra.
He died on May 1, 2017, at the age of 43, with members of his family formally lodging a civil claim in the ACT Supreme Court in October 2025.
Court documents state Mr Burgess sought treatment at a health clinic in November 2016 after experiencing arm soreness for about a week following more than 50 push-ups.
He later presented to The Canberra Hospital's emergency department with a swollen and painful right arm and milder symptoms in his left arm.
Following scans, he was diagnosed with a left axillary subclavian thrombosis (a blood clot in the deep veins of the left shoulder and chest area), caused by thoracic outlet syndrome.
The doctor, who worked at the vascular outpatients clinic in the hospital, allegedly told Mr Burgess that treating the condition would require surgery to remove two of his ribs.
The civil claim states Mr Burgess developed a haemothorax after the surgery, which can cause blood to collect in the chest.
After complaining of pain and returning to the hospital multiple times, the doctor allegedly told Mr Burgess that he required a second operation on his ribs.
He was discharged on April 24, 2017, after his second surgery, and died one week later, on May 1.
There is currently an inquest into his death, with the coroner yet to deliver their findings.
Members of Mr Burgess' family alleges he died as a result of a complication sustained during the second surgery.
They claim Mr Burgess' condition was misdiagnosed and he was subject to surgical procedures that he did not require.
"As the diagnosis was incorrect, the first and the second surgery were neither indicated or required to treat any injury or illness suffered by [Mr Burgess]," the family allege in the civil claim.
They claim the doctor and ACT government were negligent and breached their duty of care, which contributed to Mr Burgess' death.
The alleged breaches of duty of care include claims the two defendants failed to ensure the accuracy of the diagnosis before surgery, personally review Mr Burgess's scans before the diagnosis, and promptly detect the injury he allegedly suffered during the second operation.
They also allege Mr Burgess did not receive appropriate care following the second surgery.
In a decision published in May 2026, Justice Andrew Muller granted the family leave to begin the civil proceedings after finding it was in the interest of justice.
The decision noted that the solicitor representing the doctor and the government had argued her clients were "deprived of the opportunity to fully investigate and potentially resolve the claim" before the proceedings began.
However, Justice Muller said the solicitor's statement was "a little difficult to understand", as the clients had been on notice of the claims since October 2023.
"Other than a single letter sent on April 12, 2024, they elected not to pursue a response," he said.
"To the extent the defendants have been deprived of the opportunity to fully investigate and potentially resolve the claim, it is in no small part a function of their own lack of forensic diligence."
Noting that the family and the defendants had each raised concerns with the matter, Justice Muller granted a stay of the civil case until September 2026 to give the parties time to address the issues.
