Waterford City Coroner presents inquests into six recent deaths
The inquests were carried out by County Coroner John P. Goff.
It was a sunny day on Monday, April 15, spring rays but with a stubborn, bitter wind clinging on as people entered Waterford Courthouse.
Inside a courtroom, Waterford County Coroner John P. Goff presented inquests into six recent tragic deaths.
Members of An Garda Síochána assembled inside the court, readying themselves to give witness testimony.
Also in attendance were consultant pathologists at University Hospital Waterford (UHW), Dr Nigam Shah and Dr Fergus McSweeney.
The families of the departed shuffled in and out of the room as each name was called.
The inquests are a haunting reminder that grief does not end after the funeral procession, it stays with the ones left behind.
The first hearing detailed the tragic passing of a man in his early 70s after a surgical procedure.
The man died at UHW during the busy Christmas period of 2022, a time that should have been filled with family and joy.
The man’s sister was in attendance to confirm the identification she gave to Gardaí at the time.
Dr Shah explained that the heart of the man was slightly enlarged, he suffered from hypertension, and he had a perforated bowel.
Mr Goff ruled that the man’s cause of death was due to multi-organ failure as a result of small bowel perforation and sepsis.
Mr Goff said: “Any death is tragic, I offer my sympathies,” to the family of the man. Gardaí also offered their sincere sympathies to the family.
The second hearing concerned a similar incident of multi-organ failure involving a man in his 60s, who died at UHW in the summer of 2022.
The man was brought into hospital suffering from stomach pains. The man suffered from cancer of the larynx and had lost significant weight in a short period.
According to Dr Shah, the man’s heart lining was inflamed, the aorta was congested, as were his lungs, and he had bronchial pneumonia.
The man had to be fed through a tube due to the large tumour obscuring his throat-box.
The man’s family were present in court to ask a number of questions about his care.
He explained that toxicology reports are generally performed in the instances of a suspected suicide, overdose and car crashes.
They asked if antibiotics could have helped at an earlier stage of his care, and why there was no toxicology report, among other questions.
A doctor from UHW presented an overview of the man’s care, and expressed sympathy to the family for their loss.
The following hearing concerned the death of a man in his late 40’s.
The man got into difficulty while swimming on the coast of Waterford in summer 2023.
Rescue 117 and Gardaí intervened to save the man from the sea, but unfortunately he did not survive.
He was conveyed to UHW, where he was pronounced dead. The cause of death was ruled as drowning.
Mr Goff offered his deepest sympathies to the man’s family, noting the tragedy happening while the man was "following a healthy pursuit".
The following hearing involved the death of a woman in her home in Waterford.
In late 2022, she was found unresponsive by one of her adult children and later pronounced dead at UHW.
Dr McSweeney explained that the post mortem revealed "therapeutic" levels of various prescribed medication and a "toxic" level of alcohol in her system.
He further explained that the alcohol level, in the lethal range, in conjunction with the sedatives "put her to sleep".
“The medication was not enough for an overdose,” he said, stressing that she may have been unaware of the danger of mixing such medication with a high volume of alcohol.
Mr Goff ruled the cause of death as a central respiratory arrest and ingestion of a lethal level of alcohol mixed with sedatives.
Mr Goff offered his sincere sympathies to her family gathered in the courtroom, as did the Gardaí.
The fifth hearing detailed the death of a woman in her early 80s, who lived in a nursing home in South Kilkenny.
In late 2022, she suffered a fall and sustained a head injury. She was pronounced dead at UHW.
Dr McSweeney stated that the post mortem showed that she had swelling on the brain and suffered a haemorrhage.
Mr Goff ruled the cause of death to be brain swelling from hypoxic change.
The final hearing concerned the death of a woman in her 50s, who passed away in 2023. Her death was ruled as asphyxia.
Mr Goff said: "Mental health is a very difficult thing, because we can't see it."
Mr Goff and the Gardaí shared their deepest condolences with the family in attendance. At the hearing, members of her family thanked the Gardaí for their help.
