More than two months after their mother died, the family of Maureen McGinley received news that was to change their lives forever in a meeting with her GP.
The only thing that is known for sure is that the fractures happened at some point between her death from pneumonia at Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry and her body arriving for a post-mortem examination in Belfast. She spent most of her life in the town of Strabane, perched on the border with the Republic of Ireland.
The living room is adorned with religious pictures as well as photos of her children and grandchildren. “She was just a wee pensioner that always had time for everyone and that’s what makes what happened to her in the end even more awful.” A decision had been made by the hospital that as Maureen had been admitted following a fall, her case should be reported to the coroner and a post-mortem examination was to be carried out to determine the cause of death.
Tina said: “I just remember mammy’s GP saying: ‘I’m not sure how to tell you this but your mother had a large number broken bones after death.“When I stopped I didn’t even know where I was, but all I could think about was how am I going to tell the rest of the family?” He said: “I had to tell the brothers and I remember going to her grave, just almost to talk to her.”
He found that Maureen’s body had 34 unexplained fractures to her chest and a broken bone in her neck. He noted that Maureen had osteoporosis, which can result in brittle bones and can sometimes mean bones can be “easily fractured”. “This would strongly suggest that at some point during the handling or moving of the body some considerable force had been applied to the chest, however there are no specific features to indicate exactly how they were sustained.” He said that there was the “possibility” that they could have been caused by straps used by the undertaker when transporting the body from the hospital mortuary.
Maureen’s youngest daughter Tina still finds it difficult to contemplate the extent of her mother’s injuries.“Our mother was only a small wee thing, it’s just awful, it’s unthinkable.” Referencing Dr Bentley’s comments, the trust’s investigation concluded: “Often undertakers transport a body on a stretcher with the body secured by means of adjustable straps, it is possible that if the straps across the chest had been applied tightly, it could cause these injuries.”
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: The Guardian - 🏆 84. / 53 Read more »
Source: OK_Magazine - 🏆 12. / 84 Read more »
Source: BBCNews - 🏆 3. / 97 Read more »
Source: The Independent - 🏆 80. / 59 Read more »
Source: TIME - 🏆 93. / 53 Read more »
Source: TheSun - 🏆 64. / 61 Read more »