Inquest jury recommends further investigation into man’s death following crash

The jury at the inquest into the death of a 66-year-old Donegal man, who died five days after being involved in a car crash, said that they believe that further investigation should take place into his death.
Charles McBride of Falbane, Churchill, was driving towards Gweedore on 13 September 2009 when his car collided head-on with a car coming in the opposite direction.
Charles McBride, a married father of nine, was taken to Letterkenny General Hospital where he was scanned and received stitches to the back of his head and his knee, and discharged the next day.
However his daughter, Evelyn McBride who was a student nurse at the time, was concerned that her father, who was a diabetic and who had kidney problems, was not well enough to go home.
She told the coroner’s court in Letterkenny yesterday that the consultant said her father had a crack to his sternum which would take time to heal.
Her father, however, continued to suffer pain and was re-admitted to hospital on 16 September after visiting a GP.
At this stage, she said it was too late to treat him; he had multiple undiagnosed rib fractures and was in renal failure.
Pathologist Dr Gerry O’Dowd said Mr McBride had 14 rib fractures and died as a result of multi-organ failure.
The jury returned a verdict that Mr McBride died as a result of multi-organ failure due to the trauma of a car accident which in turn caused renal failure.