Toddler died after fall from windowsill

Coroner to write to council over window safety in high-rise units

The parents of a toddler who fell from a fourth floor apartment window told an inquest of their horror when they woke up to find her missing.

Twenty-one-month-old Andrea Gazsiova died from severe head injuries sustained when she fell from a bedroom window at the Tolka Vale Apartments in Finglas, Dublin 11, on September 1 last year.

Dublin Coroner’s Court heard the window had a faulty handle and could not be closed fully. Baby Andrea had been sleeping with her parents in the main bedroom but got up while they slept and went to the next room where she is believed to have climbed onto the windowsill and fallen.

Her father Ondej Gazsi gave evidence that he awoke and went to the bathroom at 8.40am with Andrea waiting for him before they went back to bed. His wife Monica Godlova was still sleeping.

“I took Andrea to bed and she made me cuddle and play. I then went back to sleep, but I don’t know how,” he said.

When the Slovakian couple woke up, they found Andrea was no longer in the bed. Having checked everywhere for the little girl, Ms Godlova realised that the window in their son Ronald’s room was open “a little bit”.

“I went to the window and opened it. I looked out and down and could see Andrea on the ground. I started roaring for Ondej. I said ‘quickly, quickly, go down’. I was very panicked,” she said.

The couple ran downstairs. When they got to her, Mr Gazsi picked Andrea up. A neighbour tried to call the emergency services but froze. A taxi was hailed by another neighbour and the couple rushed Andrea to the Mater Hospital. The inquest heard that medics worked on the baby for just under an hour before pronouncing her dead.

Coroner Dr Brian Farrell said medical reports indicate Andrea had suffered “catastrophic and irreversible” head injuries. The autopsy confirmed that Andrea died from severe head injuries consistant with a fall from a height.

Ms Godlova said the window in the bedroom was always broken. Her husband earlier gave evidence they would close it but it “kept opening itself somehow”.

She said they told the landlady about the window, through her mother who has good English. “The landlord would promise but do nothing,” she said.

Cathal Kelly, a structural engineer, confirmed the window was faulty. It could not close sufficiently or lock and the hinges were faulty. The windows were compliant with regulations when the apartment block was built in 1998.

In 2006, safety restrictor regulations were introduced.“A restrictor would have prevented this tragedy from happening but there is no onus on building owners or landlords to carry out these measures at the moment to works carried out prior to the 2006 Building Regulations,” he said.

The couple’s landlady was present in court but did not give evidence.

Dr Farrell returned a verdict of misadventure, identifying the broken handle as a risk factor. He said this was “at least” the fourth inquest he has heard in the last year or two where a child has fallen from a window in a high-rise building. He will write to the local authority again to raise the issue of protections on windows.