The father of a two-year-old child who accidentally hung himself from a venetian blind cord in his own home has appealed to other families to ensure that no similar tragedy occurs again.
Shane Malley spoke out today after a jury at Cork Coroners' Court delivered a verdict of accidental death into the circumstances surrounding the death of his son, Aaran, on February 4th last.
"Check your house, make sure it's safe. When people fit blinds for you in your house, you have to make sure they didn't leave them in a dangerous manner. We couldn't watch [our children] 24 hours a day. You should be able to put your children in a bedroom and know it is safe," he said.
Mr Malley, of Cloneen, Carrigtwohill, also urged manufacturers to ensure that only the safest possible blinds are sold on the Irish market.
He added that he, his wife, Gillian, and their remaining two children still miss Arran. "The house is very quiet without him. He was just full of life. He would have been a good boy," he said.
The court had heard earlier that Arran had hung himself from a loop cord attached to blinds on a low window ledge in an upstairs bedroom on the afternoon in question.
Mrs Malley gave evidence that she was talking downstairs with the family au pair that afternoon before going to check on her son. She went upstairs and called his name, but received no response. She then found him in an elder sibling's room by the window, and noticed that his feet were off the ground.
Frantic efforts to revive the toddler proved unsuccessful and he was declared dead later that day at Cork University Hospital.
The court also heard from a forensic engineer who confirmed that the blinds in the room were not faulty, but added that the incident occurred just 19 days before more stringent safety standards for blinds in the home were introduced.
Dr Denis Woods said there had been "a general awareness in safety circles" over a number of years with regard to the possible strangulation dangers associated with continuous loop cords. He added that European standards
introduced in 2004 were updated following several deaths in Great Britain and elsewhere, and that these standards came into force here February 23rd.
In the new standards is an insistence that a notice alerting owners to the dangers of such cords be attached to blinds, whereas previously it was acceptable to merely include such notification in packaging.
As well as delivering a verdict of accidental death, the jury attached two riders to their decision – that the voluntary standards introduced in February are observed by manufacturers and that people with blinds already in situ be made aware of the dangers and preventative measures available.