An Australian quadriplegic who recently won a landmark court case that allowed him to choose death by refusing food and water from his nursing home died Monday from a chest infection.

Christian Rossiter, 49, who said recently his life had become "a living hell" since he lost the use of his arms and legs in a 2004 road accident and a fall last year, died in the home, his brother, Tim Rossiter, said in a statement.

"I thank all those who have made Christian's life, in his final years, as comfortable and as dignified as possible," the statement said.

"Death I suspect comes as quite a relief for Christian," said John Hammond, the lawyer who took Rossiter's case to court. "I think Christian will be remembered as someone who was very brave and took up a fight which will give a lot of people comfort," he told Seven Network television.

Rossiter broke his spine in 2004 in a road accident and was left a spastic quadriplegic after a fall last year. In mid-August, the Western Australian state Supreme Court ruled that the nursing home in the west coast city of Perth must respect Rossiter's decision to refuse to take food or water through tubes.

Rossiter had asked his nursing home at least 40 times to stop feeding and hydrating him through a tube to his stomach before the matter was taken to court.

Treatment for chest infection refused

The Seven Network reported that Rossiter had refused medical treatment for the chest infection.

The details of Rossiter's last days were not known outside of his immediate family because both the family and the nursing home had asked visitors to stay away.

Hammond told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. he believed Rossiter's health had declined steadily and that he had spent most of his final three days unconscious.

The case shed light on a grey area in Australian law: patients have a right to refuse lifesaving treatment, but helping another to commit suicide is a crime punishable by life in prison. Rossiter's nursing home had sought a court ruling on its legal culpability before agreeing to Rossiter's repeated requests to stop feeding him.

In court, the judge said Rossiter clearly had a right to direct — and refuse — his treatment.

Food and fluid should not be administered against his wishes but medical staff must fully inform Rossiter of the consequences, the judge ruled.

Hammond said the ruling was not about euthanasia, but about giving people the right to refuse treatment if they are dying.

"Mr. Rossiter's primary legacy is that he took a case to the Supreme Court which ruled that patients have the right to refuse medication and food and water if they want to proceed to die quickly," he told ABC.