Laois family dismayed as fresh evidence links fatal fall to undiagnosed medical condition

Seán McCárthaigh

The family of a Laois man has expressed dismay that he suffered a fatal fall at his home four years ago which fresh evidence has indicated was linked to an undiagnosed medical condition.

Raphael Scott (65), a married father of two from Esker, Ballyfin, Co Laois, sustained severe injuries when he suddenly fell onto the ground about eight feet below from a loft where he had been loading hay.

Mr Scott, a retired schoolteacher, suffered a cardiac arrest from his injuries and died on March 20th, 2021 at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin where he had been transferred by ambulance.

At a resumed hearing of the inquest into his death at Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Thursday, evidence was heard that Mr Scott had posthumously been diagnosed with amyloidosis – a rare disease when a protein called amyloid builds up in organs and which can affect the functioning of the heart.

The inquest had been adjourned at a previous sitting to allow for more tests to be done on the deceased’s body to ascertain if he had suffered from some type of medical condition that has caused his sudden fall.

His wife, Bernie, who had witnessed the fall said the incident was “utterly out of keeping” for her husband.

A pathologist, Helen Barrett, said the main finding of the original postmortem was that Mr Scott had died as a result of multiple traumatic injuries from a fall including bruising and swelling of the brain as well as bleeding near the brain.

Coronary artery disease

However, Dr Barrett said the results of further tests on tissue samples from the deceased’s body had found evidence of coronary artery disease.

The pathologist said an analysis by a specialist laboratory in London had confirmed the presence of amyloidosis in the tissue samples taken from Mr Scott.

However, she also said the results from the UK lab did not a finding that the amyloidosis was related to a hereditary condition which was important information with implications for his relatives and their own health.

Dr Barrett said amyloidosis could result in a cardiac arrhythmia (an irregular heartbeat) which could cause someone to fall.

Based on the fresh evidence, the coroner, Aisling Gannon, said she would record the cause of death as traumatic head injuries due to presumed cardiac arrhythmia and return a verdict of death due to natural causes.

Key factor in case

She noted ordinarily that the verdict in the case of someone who had died from a fall in similar circumstances to Mr Scott would be recorded as an accidental death.

Ms Gannon said there was no evidence that Mr Scott had suffered a heart attack and it had to be presumed he suffered a cardiac arrhythmia as such a finding could not be established by a postmortem.

“Amyloidosis is a key factor in this case,” the coroner observed.

Speaking on behalf of her family, the deceased’s daughter, Claire Scott, thanked Dr Barrett and the coroner and her staff for taking the time to fully examine all the facts about her father’s death and the reasons for his ing.

“He was a very considerate and thoughtful person and would have appreciated your detailed work,” she added.

Ms Scott, who is political correspondent with the Sunday Times, said it was now clear to her family that he had suffered from a number of the key symptoms of amyloidosis in the years preceding his death for which he had never been referred for testing relating to this condition.

“It is devastating to learn that despite regular check-ups with his doctors, he did not receive a correct diagnosis which may have prolonged his life,” said Ms Scott.

Accompanied by her mother and sister, Joanne, she said it was their hope that her father’s caretakers would “take stock of what this postmortem has revealed and their future patients may benefit from this information.”

Mr Scott, who was a native of Mountmellick, Co Laois, started his career in teaching in Patrician College, Ballyfin in 1981 and worked at a number of schools in the local area until he retired from his job as a mathematics teacher in Mountrath Community School in 2013.