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James McMenamin |
Man who fought way back to fitness died after doorstep fall
A CONSTRUCTION worker who spent five months in intensive care recovering from a hit-and-run road incident died after falling over on his doorstep, an inquest heard.
James McMenamin, 44, was left fighting for his life in November 2007 after the driver of a Volkswagen knocked him down in Holloway Road and fled the scene. Nobody ever came forward and the driver was never caught.
Fifteen months later he had regained some level of independence, and had learned to walk again with the use of crutches and an oxygen supply. On the evening of his death in February, Mr McMenamin had caught a taxi from his regular pub, the Green Man in Essex Road, to his Marquess estate home in Canonbury following an evening of heavy drinking. After leaving the taxi he fell and hit his head as he made his way to the door.
A neighbour called an ambulance but cancelled it after Mr McMenamin said he didn’t want to wait and went to bed.
His body was found lifeless in bed two days later.
Coroner Dr Andrew Reid accepted he had “tripped, slipped or fallen” and died as a result of an accident.
Speaking outside St Pancras Coroner’s Court last Thursday, Mr McMenamin’s twin brother Brian, a paramedic, said: “It’s ironic after all those injuries and months in hospital he died from a severe head injury after falling over outside his front door.
“Being the person he was, he was very, very determined to get off the oxygen and he managed.” |
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