Inquest hears pensioner’s death ‘accidental’

Oct 3 2008 by Naomi Dunning, Chester Chronicle

A PARKINSON’S sufferer ready to be discharged from a Chester hospital died after he fell on the ward, an inquest heard.

Owen Chorlton, aged 74, of Sandfields Court, Frodsham, a retired process technician, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2002.

The Chester inquest heard in a statement from his GP Dr Patrick Milroy that by 2006 the spasms associated with the disease were getting increasingly frequent.

His wife Susan Chorlton said his mobility was a problem and he was falling quite regularly towards the end of his life.

Dr Niru Goenka said Mr Chorlton was admitted to the Countess of Chester Hospital on December 15, 2007, after a fall at home.

Dr Goenka said Mr Chorlton was making “good progress” and was ready to be discharged.

Staff Nurse Pauline Littler said Mr Chorlton had fallen on December 31 but appeared to have no injuries. On January 2 she saw he had got up out of bed, and was walking along the ward without his walking frame.

Miss Littler said: “We went gosh Owen is up and ran towards him. But by the time we got there he had fallen.”

The inquest heard after this fall Mr Chorlton slipped into a coma and on January 11 he died of bronchial pneumonia.

Dr Mohammed Al Jafari who carried out the post-mortem examination on Mr Chorlton said he had a cerebral haematoma, a lesion in the brain – probably caused by a fall.

Dr Al Jafari said this haematoma had bled before he died and a “further fall could have caused it to bleed”.

Cheshire Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg recorded a verdict of accidental death.