A SHUNTER'S DEATH.

NZ Truth, Issue 448, 17 January 1914, Page 2

A SHUNTER'S DEATH.

■ Crashed at Danedin Yards.

Scandalous Surgical Arrangements.

(From "Truth's" Dunedin Rep.)

On Saturday last,' at the railway goods yard, Dunedin, James O'Mahoney met his death under peculiarly careless circumstances, to. say the least. The deceased was a shunter, and was 33 years of a&c\ He was; unmarried, and resided with' hi^ mother at Oxford-street, South Dunedin. On Monday an imfuest, was held by. Coroner Graham at Una Hospital, but, with the exception of some adverse comment on .the surgical arrange-' ments at the hospital. tJbo inquiry threw little light on the .unfortunate accident,/ and proved to bo of the usual stereotyped sort. . . It appears that no matter how urgent or dangerous the case, thn residential staff of the hospital cannot avail themselves of the aid of, other surgeons even, when tho "honorary sur-' scons can't be got at This is certainly an extraprdinary rule m a public institution, and it can't rightly be said how many lives have been lost by such' 5 pROFIiSSIONAI, lIEP-TAPE. The profession,' of course, and red-tape before everything, what matters a life, or even two' five's. Shunter O'Mahoney's life might have, been saved if such • absurdities -were non-existent, and it is to bo hopod that tho Coroner's .verdict will have some beneficent effect on 'the 1 hospital bosses. Mr. Lemon appeared for the relative of deceased, Sergeant Dart represented tho police. Dr. Sowerby, house surgeon at the Dunedin Hospital, said deceased waa brought m at 3.30 p.m. He was consciouK, but suffering from Intense shock, as a result of tho mangling of tho upper part of the left leg, and a compound fracture of each U>j? above the knee. Surgeons were called m and amputation, cirried out. He sank rapidly, however, ami died at 6.15 p.tn. Tho cause of death was shock following tho severe injuries. Sergeant Dan: When was tho operation performed? — At 4.46 p.m. That's a delay of an hour and a quarter — I rang up all the honorary surgeons, but they were all ahsent, and could not be got. Any, delay waa unavoidable. Mr. Lemon: It is a scandalous state of affairs that there should have been such delay, and something must bq done to ensure Immediate performance of grave operations, m such-ur-gent cases. Deceased would have had v better chance of life if tho operation had been carried out Immediately after admission. It was a cruelly scandalous thing that the unfortunate man l\ad to wait ho long. Coroner: When honorary surgeons aro not available the residential oUlcers should certainly have full power to call m outside assistance. Mr. Lemon: It IS SIMPLY SCAJJDALOUS that there Is no such authority. From tho evidence of John Muckio Oibb and Robert Brown, respectively, who aro employed oh railway shunters, it appeared that deceased got knocked down near some points levers by an empty waggon m some inexplicable way, and woa dragged somo distance./ Neither witness acluully tviw tho real cause of deceased Rotting m the way of the oncoming trucks. Coroner: It Is impossible from the nature of tho ovldonco to actually Buy what caused tho accident. The only conclusion that I can arrivo at is, that deccouod was accidentally crushed under tho railway waggon, and that no blame is attached to anyone. 1 want to rail attention, howover, to the need of authority being given to the residential utaff In our hospluln to call outside assistance In all tfuch amen, when tho honorary surgeons arc not available.