Tadley pensioner died following a fall at home (From This is Hampshire)

Tadley pensioner died following a fall at home

9:00am Friday 5th October 2012 in News By Helen Morton

A TADLEY man died after tripping over at his home, an inquest heard.

Norman Englefield, 75, suffered a fractured skull and a brain haemorrhage as a result of the fall at his Hangar Road home on the morning of June 20.

The pensioner died a week later on June 27 at Basingstoke hospital, having contracted a lower respiratory tract infection as a result of his immobility after the fall.

His wife Sandy Englefield explained to North east Hampshire coroner Andrew Bradley that his death was completely out of the blue. She said: “We were having breakfast in the morning. He felt a bit unwell and I saw him stand up to go to the bathroom.

“I was about 10 feet away. He just turned the corner and just went flat backwards and hit his head so hard on the floor.”

Mrs Englefield, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair, was not able to get to her husband because of where he was lying, but said he was not responding when she called his name and called an ambulance. He was taken to Basingstoke hospital but never recovered consciousness.

When Mrs Englefield asked Mr Bradley if there was anything more she could have done, he told her: “The moment his head hits the ground that is it. His brain injury is such that he will not survive.”

Mr Bradley said the fall was not the result of any medical condition, though Mr Englefield had previously had a heart valve replacement using a vein from his leg.

Describing the incident as a “mechanical fall”, the coroner said there was no answer as to why he had fallen so severely.

He recorded a verdict of accidental death at the inquest, held at Alton Magistrates’ Court.