THE DEPUTY State Pathologist has agreed he cannot rule out the possibility that the dead man in a manslaughter trial had a heart attack before his head injury.
Dr Michael Curtis agreed with defence counsel Mary Ellen Ring SC in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that a previous witness’s description of the dead man prior to his fall as “unsteady on his feet” may have been evidence of cardiac arrest.
Dr Curtis added that “based on probabilities”, Kevin Durcan’s heart attack and eventual death were associated with a head injury.
David McCabe (24) of Cloonlara Road, Finglas, has pleaded not guilty to unlawfully killing Mr Durcan after a single-blow assault outside a chip shop on Parkgate Street, Dublin, in the early hours of November 21st, 2005.
Dr Curtis concluded that Mr Durcan (47), formerly of Mont Pellier Drive and a native of Sligo, contracted pneumonia due to a build-up of bacteria in his airways and reduced immunity to infection through use of antibiotics.
He said Mr Durcan had a single 3cm fracture above his right eye which could either have been sustained when he fell face-first to the ground, or from a shock wave effect of a blow to the back of his head.
He said Mr Durcan’s brain was severely deprived of oxygen, rendering him comatose for six weeks from the time of the incident to his death, and that this was influenced by his alcohol consumption.
He explained that people who have been drinking “fare worse from a head injury” than sober people, because a drunk person takes longer to regain their breathing after impact and this can lead to oxygen deprivation in the brain.
Dr Curtis agreed that Mr Durcan’s Mater hospital medical records detailed that he was a heavy drinker, who would consume 70-80 alcohol units a week.
He agreed with Ms Ring (with Sandra Frayne) that the records also showed that the dead man fractured multiple ribs when he fell in a pub in 2004 and only attended hospital a week after the accident because he felt dizzy.
He found no marks on the left side of Mr Durcan’s head, where the accused allegedly hit him before he fell to the ground.
The trial continues.