Sligo man died from burns suffered in hot bath at his home

Seán Giblin (57) initially didn’t think he needed to see a doctor after scalding himself with hot tap

Hospital staff believed Seán Giblin would recover fully from his injuries. Photograph: rip.ie
Hospital staff believed Seán Giblin would recover fully from his injuries. Photograph: rip.ie

A Co Sligo man died as a result of severe burn injuries sustained while he was taking a hot bath in his home, an inquest has heard.

A sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court heard evidence that Seán Giblin (57) from Ballymeeney, Dromore West, had to be airlifted by helicopter to hospital in Dublin due to the extent of the burns to his body after being scalded with hot water when he could not turn off the tap to the bath.

Mr Giblin, a single man, died three weeks later on June 29th, 2021 in the burns unit of St James’s Hospital.

The inquest heard that hospital staff originally believed he would make a full recovery but postmortem results showed Mr Giblin died as a result of multiple organ failure due to the extent of the burns to his body.

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In a statement provided to the court, the deceased’s sister Philomena Giblin said her brother liked to take regular baths as he found they helped to ease the back pain from which he suffered.

The inquest was told that paramedics decided the patient needed to be airlifted to hospital in Dublin for treatment as soon as possible after they estimated he had suffered 30 per cent burns to his body with injuries to his back, buttocks and right leg. They calculated his level of pain as “eight out of 10”.

Evidence was heard that Mr Giblin was placed on a ventilator during his stay in St James’s Hospital, while he underwent surgery for a skin graft on June 20th, 2021 for severe burns to 12 per cent of his body.

Coroner Aisling Gannon

returned a verdict of accidental death.