A manslaughter trial has heard carbon monoxide is deadly as it is not only without colour or odour but also because its symptoms mirror routine illnesses such as the common flu.
Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster told Cork Circuit Criminal Court today that Limerick native Miriam Reidy (35) died from acute carbon monoxide poisoning.
Ms Reidy fell ill while staying at the Trident Hotel in Kinsale, Co Cork on January 9th, 2011, and a case is being taken against heating and plumbing contractor, Richard Davis, of Serenity, Killanully, Ballygarvan, Co Cork. He denies the manslaughter of Ms Reidy at the hotel.
He also denies two charges as a director of Davis Heating and Plumbing Contractors relating breaches of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 while the company has denied the same two charges relating to the conversion of a hotel boiler on January 4th, 2011.
Dr Bolster said that Ms Reidy had a carbon monoxide blood saturation level of 57 per cent. The court heard that levels of 50 per cent and over can cause unconsciousness, convulsions, coma and death. A person suffering from carbon monoxide levels between 10 per cent and 30 per cent displays symptoms such as headaches and tiredness.
Dr Bolster said that in the early stages of carbon monoxide poisoning a patient would assume they were getting a cold or flu.
“It can mimic other illnesses...such as a flu or a cold.”
Ms Reidy, of Ballyhahill, Co Limerick, was in Kinsale for a hen party which was organised to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of her cousin Marie when she became ill.
She died from carbon monoxide poisoning after she was rushed to Cork University Hospital.
The court also heard evidence from Dr Jason Vanderbilt, who at the time of Ms Reidy’s death was a registrar in emergency services at the Mercy University Hospital in Cork.
He arrived at the Trident Hotel on January 9th, 2011 shortly after 2pm. Miriam Reidy and her sister Patricia Reidy had already been transferred to hospital.
Dr Vanderbilt said he went in to a hotel room where two doctors were treating other patients. His perception was “one of utter chaos.”
He noticed that both doctors had tremors and a patient was thrashing on the bed. One doctor reported feeling sick and said his mouth was dry.
Dr Vanderbilt said he realised he had to change his mindset from clinical care to scene safety.
“I knew the scene was not safe and I said we had to get out of the room. It dawned on me that I had a dry taste in my mouth. I recognised it from being next to a boiler flue and I mentioned carbon monoxide.”
Dr Vanderbilt said he realised that the scene was in all likelihood infected by carbon monoxide.
The case, before Judge Sean O’Donnabháin and a jury of nine men and three women, will resume on Monday.