A FATAL FALL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19978, 21 December 1926, Page 6

A FATAL FALL.

INQUEST ON VICTIM. An inquest concerning the death of John Henry Salmon was opened at the Hospital yesterday morning before Mr-iL W. Bundle, S.M., sitting as coroner. Mr J. B. Callan watched the case on behalf of the Union Assurance Company. I David Scott, produce merchant, identified the body of deceased as that of his son-in-law, who was company manager and was 23 years of age. He resided with his wife , and two children at 54 Driver street, St. i Kilda. On Wednesday evening last witI cess received a telephone message from j Mr Olas, caretaker of the public baths. Witness proceeded to the baths, and there j saw the deceased lying on the floor at the i bottom of the stairs, leading, witness un derstood. to the caretaker’s living quarters. • Deceased was unconscious, and there was a i good deal of blood on the floor, close to i deceased’s hoad. Dr Cotterill had been ' summoned, end arrived shortly after wit--1 r ess. He ordered deceased’s removal to j the hospital in an ambulance without delay. IMr Olds accompanied him to the hospital in his own car. He next saw him on Thursday afternoon, and chatting with him. He told witness that he had fallen down the office stairs, lie understood. that he meant his office stairs. He did not give an explanation of the accident. Witness told him he knew all about it. Ho saw him several times after that, and was present just before he died. Deceased did not again refer the accident in witness's hearing. The hearing of the inquest was then adjourned to the afternoon at the Police Court. Dr Reid, a house surgeon at the Dunedin Hospital, said the deceased had been admitted to the hospital at 11.40 p.m. on the Wednesday. He was in a semi-con-scious condition, with a small contused wound and bruising on the left side of the back of his head. Deceased regained consciousness about 4 o’clock the following morning. An X-ray photograph showed a fissured fracture on the left side of the skull. Early on the morning of the 17th deceased’s general condition became worse, unconsciousness developed, and he died at 10 minutes to 6 on the morning of the 19th. In witnesss* opinion death was due to laceration of the brain, the result of a fall. The post-mortem examination which hkd been carried out confirmed the opinion held by the witness. Deceased had told witness on the day following his admittance to the hospital that he had fallen down stairs. Deceased did not say what stairs. Ernest H. Olds, caretaker at the Muni cipal Baths, said he resided on premises adjoining the baths—upstairs. He had known the deceased for some years. Deceased had often visited witness’s house. His business premises were on the same side of the street—three doors up from the baths. Deceased had been at his place on the Wednesday. Witness and his wife and children were at home at the time. Deceased called about 10 o’clock and walked into "the kitchen. He was not sober. He was in a “dopy” condition, and they could not understand what ho said. Deceased could just about stand up. He fell down once while in the kitchen. Witness left the kitchen to write a letter about five minutes after the deceased arrived. His wife called him a few minutes latter and said that she thought “Sammy had fallen down the stairs.” Witness went at once and found the deceased lying at the foot of the stairs connected with the living quarters. The stairs came in* off the street. Deceased had no liquor with him. There was blood on the floor under deceased’s head, and he was unconscious and breathing very heavily. Deceased had a scalp wound at the back of the bead, and witness dressed it pending the arrival of the doctor, who was telephoned for immediately and came quickly. There were two lights on the stairs—one at the top and one at the bottom. It was a straight staircase, fairly steep. Only the top light was showing at the time. The staircase was of concrete, with tiled steps. There were 23 steps in all. A passage some 30ft to 35ft led -from the kitchen door to the top of the staircase. Deceased had been trying to recite something in the kitchen and had fallen down, and witness lifted him up Deceased was not sober. He was under the influence of something. Deceased was used to coming to witness’s place, both in the day time and at night. Witness did not expect the deceased to go away until he had come back. Deceased went away very suddenly. The stairway was sft wide, with a handrail on each side. Witness considered the stairway safe enough with ordinary care. To Mr Callan: He had been living at the baths for 13 years. He had fallen once when getting down the stairway in a hurry, but he knew of no other accident there. . Annie Olds, wife of the previous witness, gave corroborative evidence. She said she had left the kitchen to go into the boys’ bedroom, and while she was there she had heard a very heavy thud on the stairs. She ran out at once and. saw the deceased at the bottom of the stairs, and she called her husband. The coroner brought in a verdict that deceased died at the Dunedin Hospital on the 19th instant from laceration of the brain, the result of an accidental fall at the residence of Mr Olds.