The Dublin city coroner has said he is satisfied that a fall from her bed at St Colman's Hospital, Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, contributed to the subsequent death of an elderly woman.
However, Dr Brian Farrell said he wanted to make clear that it was Jemima Hall's pre-existing medical condition plus the fall which led to his returning a verdict of misadventure rather than death from natural causes or accidental death. He was speaking at the close yesterday of the inquest into Ms Hall's death.
Ms Hall, of Ballygriffin, Arklow, Co Wicklow, who was in her 80s, died at St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin on August 29th, 2004.
The inquest heard Ms Hall was brought to St Vincent's from St Colman's on August 27th, 2004 with a suspected fracture of her left leg after she fell from her bed at St Colman's earlier that morning.
Nursing staff at St Colman's told the inquest Ms Hall was frail but mobile and was not considered suitable for a bed with cot sides as she would not have accepted that.
The doctor who examined Ms Hall later, after the fall, directed she be taken to St Vincent's with a suspected fracture of her left leg. Because of other medical problems and her frailty, Ms Hall was not considered fit for surgery.
She developed pneumonia and her condition deteriorated. She was pronounced dead on August 29th.
The cause of death was given as a combination of pneumonia, renal failure, anaemia and other conditions. A fracture of the hip was also noted.
In recording a verdict of death by misadventure yesterday, Dr Farrell said the question was would she have died had she not fallen. He considered this was unlikely as she was not in distress prior to August 26th.
