A SLIGO man died from infection after becoming impaled on a fence in France, an inquest was told yesterday.
Padraic McGowan (42), from Teesan, Drumcliffe, Co Sligo, was treated for a wound to his groin in a Paris hospital after he injured himself climbing over a fence on November 11th, 2009.
Mr McGowan who was working in France as a lorry driver had decided to take a short-cut to the Paris hotel where he was staying when he became impaled on the fence.
He did not see the spikes on the top of the fence due to darkness, the court heard.
He was treated at Centre Hospitalier de Beauvais but subsequently developed an infection in his scrotum and groin.
He died 10 days later on November 21st in Dublin’s Mater hospital.
The court heard that Mr McGowan was admitted to hospital in France on November 11th where he received stitches, and was discharged the following day.
His sister Martha Davey spoke to him on the phone on November 12th and 13th and said he was in good form.
His boss brought him to the airport on the morning of November 16th and he boarded a flight, arriving in Dublin airport later that day.
The following day, Mr McGowan was found collapsed by members of Dublin Fire Brigade at Connolly Station, Dublin.
He was confused, disoriented and in renal failure when he was admitted to the Mater hospital on the afternoon of November 17th, 2009. Despite numerous procedures to remove dead tissue, the infection spread and Mr McGowan died of multi-organ failure and septic shock on November 21st.
Giving a verdict of accidental death, Dublin city coroner Dr Brian Farrell said the injury caused when Mr McGowan became impaled on the fence in France ultimately caused his death.
Speaking after the inquest, Ms Davey said her brother was an unassuming, gentle and dignified family man who “could almost be overlooked he was so quiet”.
“He struggled to understand what the hospital in Paris was telling him about his injury, but knew he was unwell and was trying to get home when he died,” she said.