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Camden News - by CHARLOTTE CHAMBERS
Published: 16 October 2008

Pensioner lay paralysed for 12 hours – inquest

A PENSIONER lay dying and paralysed on his kitchen floor for more than 12 hours after falling over in his Gospel Oak home, an inquest has heard.
James Holman, 79, a retired administrator, was found on the floor and paralysed from the chest down after he fell and fractured his spine at his Shirlock Road home in July.
The alarm was raised after one of his neighbour’s noticed his habit of opening and closing his window at night had been neglected and went upstairs to investigate.
St Pancras Court coroner’s officer Rod Quilter said the neighbour found Mr Holman lying awkwardly.
Reading a medical report, Mr Quilter said Mr Holman subsequently died from multi organ failure “partly because he’d been lying still” for 12 hours.
He said Mr Holman fell at around 6 or 7pm and was not rescued by emergency services until 8am the next day.
Although Mr Quilter initially struggled to make contact with Mr Holman’s family in Rugby, Warwickshire – a letter sent to his sibling went unanswered – relatives learned of his death a day before his funeral was due to take place.
Mr Holman’s cousin Theresa Cane told the court her sister had “intermittent” contact with him by letter as he did not have a telephone and was last seen by his relatives at Christmas, when he travelled to Rugby for a funeral.
Mr Holman was taken to the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, where he had a scan, but doctors decided that after he went into multi organ failure he should not be resuscitated.
Dr Andrew Reid, recording Mr Holman died from an accident, said: “Unfortunately he was lying in that position for over 12 hours before a neighbour realised something was not well.”

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