Bleed on brain killed Nelson drinker
9:30am Wednesday 24th October 2012 in News
By Peter Magill, Chief reporter
A BUSINESSMAN who turned to drink after a break-in at his firm ruined him was found dead with a head injury.
Terence Stewart, 48, was uninsured when the burglary took place and had to close down the unnamed firm, Burnley Coroner’s Court was told.
An inquest was told that it was then he began drinking to excess and eventually ended up in a rehabilitation unit.
His sister Donna Smith told the court that he stayed away from alcohol for some time after this and tried to find work again.
But his family noticed that he was drinking again earlier this year, the inquest heard, and he started isolating himself from his close relatives.
Mrs Smith said that Mr Stewart had also been seen by her brother with a large bruise to his head, shortly before his death.
Family members raised the alarm when Mr Stewart had not been seen for a few days and police forced an entry at his home in Hollins Road, Nelson.
Dr Walid Salman, who conducted a post-mortem examination on Mr Stewart, said there was evidence of the bruise to the side of his head.
This had caused a bleed inside his brain which would have caused his death, he told the hearing. In his system there was also an excessive amount of tramadol, a pain killer.
The cause of Mr Stewart’s death was the bleed on the brain, combined with liver cirrhosis, said Dr Salman.
The inquest heard that Mr Stewart may have believed he could be just a ‘social drinker’, so he could attend family occasions.
Recording an accidental verdict, East Lancashire’s deputy coroner Mark Williams said there was no evidence of how Mr Stewart may have fallen, causing the head injury.
This had caused the bleed on his brain which had resulted in his death.
