Reference no: EM133474539

Question: Dana holds a party at her house. A number of guests attend the house, including Dana's close friend Johnny. Dana wants to make sure that everyone has a great time at her party and can really let loose. Dana pulls out her stash of the illicit drug ice and passes it around. Dana and Johnny both smoke some ice together. As the night wears on, Johnny begins to feel unwell. Dana sees his eyes glazed over, he is struggling to engage with other people and beings stumbling around. At around 11pm Dana takes Johnny to a granny flat which is located in her backyard but is completely separate from the main dwelling where the party is happening. Dana made it clear at the start of the party that everyone had to stay in the main dwelling and no one was allowed to enter the granny flat. Dana helps Johnny lie down on a bed inside the granny flat. Johnny begins vomiting and his breathing becomes shallow. Dana suspects Johnny is unwell due to the ice use. She thinks Johnny just needs some rest and that he'll feel a bit better once the ice has worn off. She cleans him up and puts a bucket next to the bed, in case he needs to vomit again. Dana locks the door to the granny flat so that no other guests can come in and disturb Johnny's rest. Dana then returns to the party in the main dwelling. The next morning Dana goes out to the granny flat to check on Johnny. Johnny is not breathing and Dana cannot find his pulse. A medical report found that Johnny died around 4 hours after Dana put him to bed in the granny flat and that his death was caused by a combination of the ice and his other prescribed medication. Dana obtains a report from a psychiatrist which states that Dana has a diagnosis of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) from witnessing her brother die of a drug overdose 10 years earlier. The report says that the PTSD would have impaired Dana's judgment on the night of the party and that Dana may have experienced an overwhelming sense of helplessness upon seeing Johnny unwell. Dana also tells the psychiatrist that she remembers seeing Johnny become unwell in the main dwelling but not much else until she woke up the next morning. Discuss Dana's liability for the death of Johnny and any possible defences she may have available to her.