Melbourne surgeon assaulted outside Box Hill Hospital dies
The Melbourne surgeon who was allegedly punched in the head outside Box Hill Hospital while asking people to stop smoking has died.
Patrick Pritzwald-Stegmann, 41, was allegedly hit in the head in the one-punch attack four weeks ago.
The Melbourne father-of-two died at The Alfred hospital on Tuesday night from injuries suffered in the alleged attack on May 31.
Dr Pritzwald-Stegmann remained in intensive care and was in a critical condition after undergoing brain surgery.
After four weeks in a coma Dr Pritzwalk-Stegmann's family decided to switch off his life support on Tuesday night.
"Our family is devastated by Patrick's passing," the family said in a statement.
"We are grateful for the compassion and support we have received from friends, colleagues and the broader community over recent weeks."
The well-respected surgeon was heading home from work last month when he became invovled in an altercation at the entrance to the hospital east of Melbourne.
He was said to be expressing his concerns to a number of people smoking at the hospital entrance before he was allegedly attacked in the foyer.
Victoria Police said the surgeon was struck in the head and fell to the ground unconscious.
The Australian Medical Association condemned the alleged attack, saying violence has become a common occurrence in hospitals.
A Mill Park man had previously been charged in relation to the alleged assault.
The 22-year-old was charged with intentionally causing serious injury but investigators will await results from a post mortem before reviewing the charges, police said in a statement.
The investigation is under the oversight of homicide detectives but remains with Whitehorse Crime Investigation Unit.
Two weeks after the surgeon was struck, Father Kevin Dillon, a priest from St Mary's in Geelong penned a letter to his parish detailing the family sacrifices Dr Pritzwald-Stegmann was often forced to make.
"From time to time he has brought them to the hospital to meet his patients, so that they might understand a little better why their Daddy has to work so hard and sometimes miss precious time with them," Fr Dillon wrote in a parish bulletin.
"They know that their Daddy is a healer, who makes sick people better," the priest added.
Dr Pritzwald-Stegmann was born in Germany and graduated from the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 2002.
He became a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 2013 and was due to start a new position at St Vincent's Hospital in Fitzroy.
