A JURY has recommended that all community bodies familiarise themselves with the latest guidelines on sports hall design after hearing how a father of two died after hitting his head off a wall while playing indoor soccer.
Michael Collins (51), Gormleigh, Carrignavar, Co Cork, was fatally injured when he collided with another player and hit his head off the wall while playing a game of five-a-side soccer in the Whitechurch Community Hall on November 5th last.
The inquest heard evidence from a number of players who said the game was almost over when Mr Collins went to contest with Con Cremin a 50/50 ball six feet off the ground and they collided accidentally.
Mr Cremin said he was watching the ball when he jumped to head it and collided with Mr Collins. He fell back and hit his head off the wall, sliding down to the floor unconscious. He came to some minutes later only to drift back in and out of consciousness.
Willie Sheehan said he knew immediately when he saw Mr Collins fall back that he was going to hit the wall. He shouted to a friend to call an ambulance. They put Mr Collins in a recovery position and tried to keep him conscious while waiting for the medical services.
Paul French said it was a freak accident which happened when Mr Collins was about six feet from the wall. If he had been closer, it would have been his back that hit it, while if he had been farther out, he would have missed the wall entirely.
The inquest heard Mr Collins was brought to Cork University Hospital but his condition deteriorated overnight. He underwent surgery to remove pressure on his brain but he died on November 7th from brain swelling due to blunt force trauma.
Cork city coroner Dr Myra Cullinane said she had researched the matter and could find no statutory instruments regarding the construction of such sports halls or governing the operation of such facilities nor could she find any such statutory provisions in other countries.
The jury of four men and two women returned a verdict of accidental death with a rider that all community bodies and sports halls would make themselves aware of the most up-to-date guidelines on sports hall design and layout.
Dr Cullinane extended her sympathies to Mr Collins’s wife Veronica and their two children on their tragic loss, which she described as “incredibly unexpected”.
She commended the family for their generosity in donating his organs for transplant.