The GLIO Site

PETERSFIELD.

     IMPORTANT CORONER’S INQUEST.—An inquest was held on Wednesday last at the Swan Inn, before E. Hoskins, Esq., coroner, to enquire into the circumstances connected with the death of George Knight.—The inquest was called for by a rumour which was current in the town to the effect that deceased had been culpably neglecte in the early stage of his illness by his medical attendant, Mr. J. Lipscomb, of Alresford, a charge which the jury, as will be seen by their verdict, did not consider borne out by the evidence. The following were the jury:—Mr. J. Small, (foreman), Messrs. Hoar, Gammon, Richardson, Carter, Perdew, Collyer, Maidlow, Blackmore, Aldridge, Powell, Young, Triggs, Chapman, and Duplock. The first witness called was Daniel Night, brother of deceased, who deposed as follows:—Deceased lived with me at Alresford, and we both worked on the Alton and Winchester line of railway. On the 7th of September we left home together, to go to our work. I was employed in a cutting, my brother was breaksman to a set of muckwaggons, which ran to and fro between the cutting where I was at work, and a place a quarter of a mile distant, he had to attend to the spraggs used for breaks; there was another breaksman named Mark Silverthorn. About half-past nine o’clock I saw my brother coming towards me, I went to him, he told me he had been injured between the waggons, I only saw a slight cut on his head, he said his body and ribs were hurt, I took him home and was present when Mr. Lipscomb, who is our club doctor, came, he examined my brother’s head, and I believe his to body too, but he said he would send him some medicine, and he ordered me to get some flannel and bind round his body, I did so, Mr. Lipscombe continued to attend him till he was removed to Petersfield, he visited him about every other day, he always came when he was sent for, he sent an embrocation which I rubbed in every evening, I believe he saw the bandage from time to time. When I was away at work the landlady, Mrs. Flowers, attended to him, the bandage was not removed except when I opened it to rub in the embrocation, the bandage was approved of by the doctor, my brother was unable to eat any solid food after he received the injury, he was removed home for his comfort, as there were six of us lodging in the same house. Mr. Lipscombe frequently came to see him, he spat a little blood when he was first brought home, but not afterwards, I saw him three times before his death after he was removed to Petersfield. By the foreman—I did not know that his rib and jaw were broken when he left Alresford, never heard the doctor say so.—Mark Silverthorn deposed: I am a breaksman on the Alton and Winchester Railway. I had been working on the line with deceased about three months. We had two sets of muck waggons running on separate roads, one empty and the other full. As we were passing one of the empty waggons caught deceased, and knocked him against a full one. He was picking up a spragg to put into the empty waggon. The train full of carriages was standing still; the empty one was running up an incline, and was drawn by three horses at a foot pace. There were four carriages to each train. The horses were led by Alfred Fidler, who had hold of the middle horse; he could not see deceased, as he was on the other side, stooping down. The spot where the accident occurred is about ten yards from the points where the metals close, and there was not room for a man to stand between the rails. The deceased said to the driver of the horses ‟Come on.” When I saw what had happened I ran and stopped the horses. Deceased was so jammed between the waggons that we were obliged to back them before we could release him; he was in an upright position. We put him into the waggon.—By the foreman: When he was in the waggon he complained of' his poor ribs and jaw. He spat blood as we took him home. I lodged with him. I never heard him say before he left Alresford that his ribs and jaw were broken. I heard him say he was dangerously hurt, and he told me that the doctor had not come when first he was sent for, but when I went home from my work in the evening the landlady told me the doctor had been. Deceased walked home from the mouth of' the cutting, about half a mile.—Eliza Knight deposed: Deceased was my son; he was in his 22nd year. He was brought home injured on the 19th. of October; he died last Friday night. He was unable to take any solid food during the whole time. Mr. Cross first saw him on the 21st, two days after he came home. He had a piece of flannel tacked round him, which did not quite meet. He had also an old scarf two or three times round him. The flannel and scarf remained on till Monday. Deceased spat, small quantities of blood frequently, and passed blood through him. Mr. Cross gave him medicine on Friday. On Monday he was taken with a violent cough, and spat a great deal; this continued till Mr. Cross gave him something, and directed me to foment, his body, which I did. About a fortnight after he came home Mr. Cross tapped his side. The flannel was removed on the Monday, when Mr. Cross told me to foment him, and was not put on again, and no bandage was put on till after the tapping, then a calico bandage and pad was put on. Deceased never had his clothes on after this; he told me the doctor at Alresford had attended him. He said he thought if Mr. Cross had attended him from the first he should have recovered, but that he had been lost through neglect; if his side had been bound up in a proper manner he should not have suffered what he did. His jaw was not strapped up; he never asked Mr. Cross to strap it. We spoke to Mr. Cross about his ribs; he said they were broken. I forget whether this was on the Friday or Monday. I never heard deceased blame anyone for the way in which the accident occurred. He did not tell me when he came home that his ribs or jaw were broken. I never heard him say the doctor at Alresford put a bandage round him; he said the doctor had not examined his side at all.—Mr. R. S. Cross deposed: I am a registered medical practitioner at Petersfield. I first attended deceased on Friday, the 21st of October last. He was very weak and pale. He told me of injuries which he had received on his ear, the side of his head, the lower jaw, ribs, and left side, and contusions on the other parts of his body. He told me how he received those injuries, which substantially agrees with what the witnesses have just stated. I first examined him on Monday. I was aware that his ribs were injured from a letter I had received from Mr. Lipscombs, stating that he had sustained injuries, among which was a fractured rib, and that he had been sent home as the house where he had been living was full of lodgers and he could not get the necessary care and nursing. I ascertained on Monday, as well as the swelling of the chest would permit, that there was a fracture of a rib, he was labouring under pain of the chest, cough, and difficulty of breathing. There was a fracture of the lower jaw on the left side, from the seat of which there was a discharge of matter externally, his chest symptoms continued to increase in severity, being those of inflammatory action and effusion, until November 10th, when it was found necessary to perform the operation of tapping, which was done successfully, and a large quantity of pus was taken away, which, aided by a continued supply of stimulants, afforded him great relief, and rallied very considerably. About a week after the operation matter appeared through the opening, and continued to discharge up to the time of his death, this was the result of inflammatory action within the chest. About three weeks after the operation he was sufficiently improved in condition to warrant a strong hope of recovery, but in spite of all that could be done he sank, and died from emaciation and the continuous drain upon his system. It was a very remarkable case, from the quantity of pus taken away at the time of the operation, amounting to a gallon and half a pint. Inflammation of the pleura, was the cause of accumulation, and this inflammation was caused primarily by the fractured rib, and secondarily was the effect of cold and the exertion consequent upon his removal. I should not say that when I first saw deceased he was bandaged at all; there was something round him, but nothing like bandaging up. I cannot say whether in this particular case bandaging and strapping was necessary at first, as this would depend on circumstances, and I did not see the case in its early stage, I could not, after such a lapse of time, give an opinion as to whether it was necessary to strap the jaw. In my opinion there was nothing wrong in removing deceased at the time, supposing he could not obtain proper nursing and attention.—By the foreman: I do not think the word ‟fracture” was used by Mr. Lipscomb in his letter in reference to the jaw; he said he was convalescent from the injuries he had received. I could not say whether there was more than one rib broken. The use of lotion in case of a broken rib would depend on the condition of the patient as to pain. Deceased was never in a condition, after I saw him, to have any appliances to the jaw or rib with a view to set them. It was a comminuted fracture of the jaw, with occasional escape of fragments of bone through the opening in the skin, after which escapes the patient, living on soft food, got a good union of the bones. I cannot express an opinion as to whether the jaw could have been set in the first instance.—By Mr. Lipscomb: There was no dislocation of the jaw; the fracture was a compound comminuted one. Mr. J. Lipscomb deposed: I am a registered medical practitioner at Alresford, and surgeon appointed to look to the men employed on the Alton and Winchester Railway, now in course of construction. I was sent for to attend deceased. I do not remember the date when the first messenger arrived. I was not at home. A second came just as I reached home, and I went immediately; this was about the middle of the day. I found him in bed. He complained of his ribs, sides, and head. There was a cut on the head and a bruise on the jaw and neck. I examined the chest, and from symptoms and the pain I diagnosed fracture of one or two ribs on the same side, but could not detect any displacement. I dressed his head, and told the attendants what to do for the chest, prescribed for him, and left. I was told the injuries had been received that morning. He spat some blood. On my next visit I found evidence that the rib had not only been fractured, but driven through the pleura into the lung, the evidence being emphysœma. I undid the bandage which had been placed by my direction a day or two before, and again examined the ribs, and still found they were in their proper position. I ordered an embrocation, and the bandages to be replaced as before, after the rubbing in. I distinctly remember on more than one occasion tightening the bandage. I do not remember the texture of the bandages, as they supply this themselves. On my first visit deceased did not complain particularly of his jaw, nor call my attention to it in any marked manner; but some time after, when he did so,  I found it inflamed and matter forming. I concluded at my first visit that the cut on the head and blow on the side of the face downward were produced by the spragg striking him there; consequently I did not examine it particularly till after the matter had formed. I knew, from the contents of the access that the jaw had been splintered. He passed a quantity of blood through him, and I believe his internal injures were not easily to be defined. I also believe, that a great portion of the inflammation which followed the injuries arose from the bending inwards of the cartilage of the ribs, which would account for the extension of the inflammation all over the pleura, and give it its indolent character, and also predispose to formation of matter in the pleural cavity. I thought him progressing as favourably as could be under the circumstances; and as matters were so much against his recovery—bad air and no nursing, and knowing he had a home at Petersfield, and that his father was in the employ of Mr. Cross. I wrote to that gentleman as soon as I thought the deceased was in a fit state to be removed, requesting him to look to him, and sent deceased home.—By the Coroner: I attended the deceased certainly as often  as every second or third day, perhaps oftener. I prescribed for him, and sent him medicines from my surgery up to the time of his removal. If my attention had been directed particularly to the jaw on my first visit, I should have strapped and bandaged it; but I very much doubt if this would have prevented the formation of the abscess. The ends of the ribs being in their proper position, a very light bandage was all that was required to keep them there. Although, as I have stated, the rib had penetrated the pleura, I believe that the act of walkin home had restored it to its original position. I thought seriously of the case from the first, though I did not despair of his recovery. When I told Mr. Cross in my letter that deceased was convalescent, he was able to get up and come down stairs. There were six other men sleeping in the room, and I thought I was doing the best thing for deceased in sending him home.—Mr. Lipscomb added, in reply to a remark from the foreman, that he regretted as matters had turned out that he did not attend more particularly to this jaw.—Mr. Cross, in reply to a question from the Coroner, said there was too much swelling of the chest to admit of his defining accurately the position of the ribs, without involving the patient in more pain than he was in a position to bear.—The room being cleared, the jury deliberated for some time, and returned a verdict of ‟Accidental death.”