Man, 82, who died of pneumonia at Blackpool Victoria Hospital had had rare lung condition for 10 years

An 82-year-old man who died of pneumonia at Blackpool Victoria Hospital had had a rare progressive lung condition for around 10 years.

John Murphy suffered from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which causes permanent scarring (fibrosis) in the tissue surrounding the air sacs, making the lungs stiff and unable to absorb oxygen properly.

The condition has an unknown cause and although Mr Murphy had worked in several jobs where he might have been exposed to materials potentially damaging to his lungs, an inquest at Blackpool Town Hall found there was no conclusive evidence that that work history was responsible for the condition.

Mr Murphy had worked on shipyards in the 1960s, often breaking up rubble, later for a car metals company and for several years for the soap powder manufacturer.

Blackpool and Fylde senior coroner said it was possible that exposure to certain materials such as asbestos during Mr Murphy’s working life could have been the cause of his condition.

But equally, a large number of people develop it for no obvious reason, so Mr Wilson said the balance of probabilities fell short of Mr Murphy’s death being due to industrial disease.

A post mortem examination found Mr Murphy’s case of death was pneumonia due to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

The coroner returned a narrative conclusion based on the circumstances of Mr Murphy’s death.