A Dublin worker who did not seek medical attention or report a fall at work died several months later after attending an emergency department, a coroner’s court has heard.
A Health and Safety Authority (HSA) investigation into the death of 44-year-old Stewart Dowling, a father of three from Lucan, Co Dublin, could not link his death to a workplace fatality.
Mr Dowling died in Connolly Hospital in March 2023, after attending the emergency department. He told medical staff he had fallen at work several months prior.
While his cause of death was not stated at a brief sitting of the Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Friday, the nature of his presentation was described as “traumatic”.
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He was employed by a subcontractor so worked on multiple sites, none of which had reported a fall, according to HSA inspector Trevor Ryan-Nesbitt.
Mr Ryan-Nesbitt told coroner Dr Cróna Gallagher that a file had not been prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions as the death could not be linked to a workplace fatality. He said the exact time or location of the fall was not known when the incident was reported to gardaí.
Mr Ryan-Nesbitt said there was nothing further the HSA could offer.
Dr Gallagher said she appreciates it wasn’t reported to the employer and the man did not seek medical attention at the time. “I appreciate the difficulties in actually following up on that if there is no paperwork or eyewitnesses,” she said.
However, she raised concerns that the cause of death recorded in the HSA report “does not appreciate the full picture”.
“This man did go to the emergency department and stated that he had a fall and had injuries consistent with that fall and subsequently died but the cause of death doesn’t fully take into account the nature of his presentation, which was traumatic. But I understand the difficulty that you have,” she said.
Dr Gallagher said she did not view Mr Dowling’s case as a non-reportable death “given the circumstances”. She said it appears his presentation to the hospital months after the incident was “directly linked to some trauma which he stated arose in work”.
“If the HSA don’t feel this is a matter for them, I’ll be asking An Garda Síochána to try and further this,” she said.
Dr Gallagher said she would follow up with gardaí and medical staff concerning Mr Dowling’s death before a full hearing is scheduled.
Separately, criminal proceedings concerning the death of a 23-year-old man who was struck by an SUV in South Dublin have been dropped as the accused has since died.
Kevin Sheedy, from Killinarden in Tallaght, was struck by an SUV on the M81 in Tallaght in January 2023. The driver, a woman in her 40s, did not require hospital treatment.
Inspector Nigel McInaw told Dr Gallagher there was a direction for prosecution after a file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) last year concerning Mr Sheedy’s death.
However, he said, the accused has since died.
An inquest hearing will now be scheduled concerning Mr Sheedy’s death.
The sitting on Friday morning also heard a file has been sent to the DPP and criminal proceedings are being considered concerning the death of pedestrian Mary Hardy, who died after a collision in Stoneybatter in December 2023.
The 67-year-old was struck by a truck on Manor Street.
