A consultant chemical pathologist at Dublin's Beaumont Hospital has disputed the findings of State Pathologist Dr MarieCassidy in relation to the death of teenager Brian Murphy outside Anabel nightclub in Dublin six years ago.
Dr Cassidy concluded that Mr Murphy's injuries were relatively minor and the most likely cause of death was alcohol-induced apnoea.
But speaking on RTÉ Radio this morning, Dr Bill Tormey described Dr Cassidy's findings as "highly fanciful."
"Dr Cassidy's conclusion that Brian's head injury was most likely complicated by alcohol-induced apnoea is highly speculative. The evidence is nowhere near strong enough to make that conclusion," he said.
"Brian Murphy died with 100mgs of alcohol in his blood, which is the equivalent of consuming two to three pints of beer. The scientific evidence is very weak and anecdotal that alcohol would be a significant factor in his death."
He said acute apnoea, a failure to breathe and acute brain swelling, would not occur in an 18-year-old with 100mg of alcohol unless something else had also occurred.
Dr Tormey said several of his colleagues at Beaumont Hospital shared his view. "I have conferred with four consultants at the hospital and to say they were astonished at the findings would be an understatement."
Dr Tormey accepted that Dr Cassidy was an experienced medical professional and added that he had a lot of respect for her.
"She is very good and she operates in this gothic frightening world of forensic pathology. But what doctor does not make mistakes, I make mistakes myself. All I am saying in this particular instance I beg to differ with her conclusions. I am doing a public service stating the evidence upon which this statement was made by the State Pathologist is pretty dodgy," he said.
The DPP decided not to proceed with the manslaughter case against Dermot Laide last week after he received a report from Prof Cassidy, based on photographs and other materials collected following Brian Murphy's death.
This report differed from the original pathology report from the then state pathologist, Prof John Harbison, who was too ill to attend the retrial. Prof Cassidy attributed the death to the trauma of head injury combined with the effects of alcohol consumption, while Prof Harbison said it was due to head injury alone.