A RETIRED railway worker who lived in Kendal died as a result of falling downstairs at his home, an inquest has heard.

John Wallace Hammond, 73, suffered a fatal head injury when he fell down a flight of stairs in his home on Anchorite Fields on September 18, 2022.

In a statement read to the Coroners’ Court in Cockermouth, his wife of 23 years Priscilla said that she was in the house at the time, when she heard a 'bumping noise', and saw Mr Hammond lying on the floor, unresponsive.

She called 999 at around 7.45 pm and began performing CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) on Mr Hammond before paramedics arrived at 7.54pm.

Paramedics ‘saw no obvious signs of trauma or bleeding’ on Mr Hammond, and continued with treatment.

Assistant Coroner for Cumbria Craig Smith heard that paramedics could not find a pulse on Mr Hammond, and he was not breathing, but that 'after a period, he had regained some electrical activity but without pulse'.

A further critical care paramedic and consultant-level doctor arrived at the address.

The court heard that a view had formed among the medical professionals that a 'medical event' had precipitated the fall and cardiac arrest.

His pulse was detected, and the decision was taken to transfer Mr Hammond to Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

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During the journey, his condition deteriorated, and four minutes after his arrival at the hospital, doctors ceased treatment, and Mr Hammond was pronounced dead at 9.32 pm.

His wife's statement said that Mr Hammond was born in Hamilton in Scotland, and moved to England in the 1970s, and last worked as a railway maintenance manager.

He has five surviving children.

He had suffered no long periods of ill health until he 'started becoming forgetful', and was diagnosed with dementia in July last year, and his 'mobility had started to decline'.

The court heard that he had Mr Hammond had attended Westmorland General Hospital in January 2021 after he had tripped and fallen while carrying a box up some stairs.

Mr Smith recorded a cause of death of traumatic inter-cranial haemorrhage caused by a fall down the stairs.

He said that he could not rule with any certainty whether a medical event or loss of balance caused Mr Hammond to fall.