Retired Blackpool restaurant owner, 72, died months after falling while out shopping at Marks and Spencer

A 72-year-old man died from various medical complications more than four months after suffering a facture in a fall while out shopping.

Joe McGivern, a retired restaurant owner from Blackpool, was in his local Marks and Spencer store when he fell, suffered a fracture of the right ankle and was transferred to Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

Mr McGivern’s medical history included previous coronary artery bypass surgery and Type 2 diabetes mellitus and after a precautionary cardiology review at the hospital, he underwent a surgical repair and remained in hospital before being appropriately discharged.

An inquest at Blackpool Town Hall heard that over subsequent weeks, his rehabilitation was felt to be progressing satisfactorily but from around mid-September the surgical site was showing signs of infection.

On October 8, he had another fall in the living room area of his home and with his ankle painful and swollen, returned to hospital.

By October 17, and with an infection at the surgical site confirmed, he had to return to the operating theatre for the removal of some metal work inserted during the original surgery.

Post-operatively, with ongoing treatment including anti-biotics, he began to show signs of improvement but then became noticably short of breath.

Hospital-acquired pneumonia was diagnosed and from October 26, his respiratory function was concerning and gradually deteriorating.

After he went into cardio-respiratory arrest early on October 27, he was transferred to the intensive care unit where further investigations confirmed the presence of severe pneumonia.

He died later that day and a subsequent post-mortem examination revealed the cause as heart failure caused by advanced heart disease.

The pathologist reported that Mr McGivern had been more susceptible to dying when he did due to the effects of bronchopneumonia and the infected surgical site, which placed extra strain on his heart.

Recovery from infection at the surgical site was compromised by his known diabetes.

Blackpool and Fylde senior coroner returned a narrative conclusion that Mr McGivern died in hospital during the post-operative period after undergoing necessary surgery to address complications of the surgical repair of a fractured ankle.

His death was from the combined effects of severe heart disease and significant infection in both lungs and at the surgical site of the ankle repair which would have added additional strain on his compromised heart and proved fatal.