Three lifeguards accused of breaching their duty of care to an accomplished swimmer, who suffered a hypoxic blackout and drowned, have been acquitted by a jury.
After hearing three weeks of evidence at Newry Crown Court, the jury of three men and eight women deliberated for an hour and 40 minutes before returning with unanimous not guilty verdicts in the case of Cathal McVeigh, William Holden and James Monaghan.
Judge Paul Ramsey KC thanked the jury for their service and commitment during what was a “difficult and troubling and emotional case”.
Mr McVeigh (35), from Dunamony Road in Dungannon; Mr Holden (26), from Unshinagh Lane in Portadown, and Mr Monaghan (26), from Folly Lane in Armagh, had each faced a charge of breaching their duty to others on April 7th, 2017 by failing “to take reasonable care for the health and safety of other persons who may be affected by your acts or omissions at work”.
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During his summing up of the case earlier on Tuesday, Judge Ramsey said “the person at the very heart of this case” was Christopher Rogers (20), whose death had been a “shattering experience for everyone involved”, especially his family.
Over the course of the trial the jury heard how Mr Rogers, an accomplished swimmer, completed two lengths of the pool at Orchard Leisure Centre in Armagh fully submerged and was half way through a third length when he broke the surface. He then sank to the bottom of the pool where he remained for just over five minutes until he was pulled unconscious from the water.
The three accused men were on duty at the time and unaware that Mr Rogers had suffered a hypoxic blackout. They were “focusing intently” on him, but believed he was following his normal training regime.
The jury heard it was a regular occurrence for Mr Rogers to swim under water and to hold his breath for a prolonged period while submerged.
Each of the accused told police and gave evidence to the jury about having “no concerns whatsoever” that anything was wrong with Mr Rogers.
The jury heard that while Mr Rogers was submerged, another swimmer in the pool “nudged” him with his foot, believing that the 20-year-old had given him a “thumbs up” signal in response.
However, the “thumbs up” signal was actually Mr Rogers’ body experiencing decerebrate and decorticate posturing, where his limbs moved involuntarily during a seizure brought on by his brain being starved of oxygen.
It had been the prosecution’s case that each accused breached their duty of taking reasonable care by waiting too long to initiate a rescue, the prolonged changeover of pool duties distracted them and they “missed the signs” that Mr Rogers was in danger.
It also emerged that during their training and induction, the lifeguards had received no guidance about hypoxic blackouts or the signs to look for or about the dangers of prolonged breath holding and extensive underwater swimming.
In the weeks and months after Mr Rogers’ death, changes were made to rules and regulations in swimming pools across the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon District Council area and additions were made to the Royal Life Saving Society manual for pool lifeguards.
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