A FORMER deputy head teacher died as a result of head injuries sustained in an apparent fall at the care home where he was living, an inquest jury has decided.
They found Brian Douglas Haig’s death was accidental after sitting as one of the last juries to be asked to decide such a case, following a change in the law.
Mr Haig was found on the floor of his bedroom at the Buckingham care home in Penistone on March 12 and died at Barnsley Hospital four days later.
Because he was subject to a legal ruling called a deprivation of liberty safeguarding order, which meant he was not allowed out by himself on safety grounds, his death after the suspected fall had to be heard by a jury.
However, the law changed in April, meaning that process is no longer necessary.
Mr Haig, 85, suffered multiple health problems including Parkinson’s disease and dementia and had been checked regularly through the night of March 11 by staff.
But in the morning of March 12 he was found at the side of his bed, with injuries consistent with a fall.
He was taken to Barnsley Hospital where doctors diagnosed bleeding and bruising to the brain, from which Mr Haig was not expected to survive.
Coroner Chris Dorries told the jury: “He was a known falls risk, he was very active.
“He was found beside his bed with a head injury and was taken to hospital. It was almost immediately recognised that his head injury was not survivable in his case.”
The jury found that his death was due to his head injuries and Parkinson’s and concluded the cause was accidental.
Mr Haig’s status with a deprivation of liberty - so-called ‘dols’ - order meant that in legal terms he was on a par with others held in state custody, such as prisoners, meaning an inquest jury had to decide on his case.
The jury is no longer required following a relaxation of the rules which became active weeks after his death.
