Woman in fall died from hypothermia

A WOMAN who had been drinking on a Christmas night out died from hypothermia after falling just yards from her front door, a coroner’s court heard yesterday.

Rose Whelan, 52, of Ardmore Terrace, Ballybeg, Waterford, suffered injuries when she fell on the path outside her front door, on December 19, 2009. She died just days after her 52nd birthday.

However, state pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy told the Coroner’s Court in Waterford city yesterday Ms Whelan would have been “unlikely to recover” from the hypothermia she suffered after the fall.

The woman’s death was “primarily due to hypothermia”, she said.

Ms Whelan’s lungs were “water-logged” and there was fluid in the abdominal cavity, while there was some small haemorrhaging around the heart, the court heard. Evidence at the scene suggested that Ms Whelan had tried to get up and failed to do so.

Ms Whelan, it emerged, was likely to have had an alcohol level of 390 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood and would have been unsteady on her feet.

Coroner John Goff described the case as “very, very tragic”.

Sgt Larry Sheahan found blood on the driveway of the woman’s house while blood was also discovered on the front of a vehicle. He said there was frost on the ground.

He discovered Ms Whelan fully clothed, lying on her right hand side.

Paramedics arrived but were unable to resuscitate her, he said.