A much-loved Polish grandfather had been visiting family in Buncrana last year when he tragically fell down the stairs and died, an inquest has heard.
Franciszek Szulik died of a “non-survivable brain injury” at Letterkenny Hospital on May 11, 2024, the day after the awful accident at his daughter’s home at Marian Park, Buncrana.
The Coroner’s Court heard how Mr Szulik (63) had arrived with his wife from Poland for their granddaughter’s First Holy Communion in Buncrana, when tragedy struck.
Coroner Dr Denis McCauley ruled the sudden death as “an accident, a terrible accident”. He said alcohol was not a factor in the tragedy.
After he was pronounced brain stem dead, Mr Szulik donated three of his organs, including his liver and two kidneys, which have since been used to help others in need.
In her harrowing evidence to the inquest, Mr Szulik’s daughter Alexandria Kemmy explained how her father had arrived in Buncrana on May 6 and intended to stay for four weeks, taking in the First Holy Communion on Saturday, May 18.
She outlined the events that followed thereafter.
“On May 9, I was working at the Credit Union in Buncrana. I finished at 5pm and got home at about 5.30pm but no one was home at this stage.”
“My parents, Franciszek and Marietta, had walked my daughter to her guitar lesson. At about 6.30pm all of them returned home. At 7.30pm we went to a fundraiser walk that was taking place. Andrew Kemmy, my husband, and Naomi went to the fundraiser walk with me, and my parents stayed at home because they were tired from walking about.”
They arrived home at 9pm and had some tea, as Alexandria further explained.
“Andrew and my father had one drink before Andrew went to bed at 10.30pm – but me and my parents stayed up chatting. I remember my father had one more drink before we all went to bed at midnight.”
Soon after, however, things took an unimaginable turn for the worse.
“At 2am that morning I woke up to a loud bang and I ran straight to my daughter’s room because I thought she had fallen out of her bed,” Alexandria said.
“When I realised it wasn’t her who caused the bang, I came back to the stairs and saw my mother and husband running down the stairs and I followed them. That’s when I saw my father lying on his back at the bottom of the stairs.”
“His head was facing the front door and his feet were at the bottom of the stairs. I could hear him breathing very heavily. I then ran back up the stairs to my bedroom to get my mobile phone and call 999. I had to give the phone to Andrew because I wasn’t able to speak.”
The Coroner’s Court heard how Mr Szulik survived the initial fall but cruelly succumbed to his catastrophic injuries afterwards, as daughter Alexandria testified.
“My father was unconscious through this but then he began to wake up. The 999 operator told us to keep him in place because he may have back or neck injuries. But my father tried getting up, so I took the phone and Andrew tried to keep him down.”
“My father managed to slide from the bottom of the stairs across to the living room. We helped him to sit up on the sofa and that’s when the ambulance arrived and they conducted their tests. They said that he had to go to Letterkenny University Hospital.”
“He did not want to go but we eventually got him into the ambulance. Because I spoke English and Polish, they said I could come in the ambulance too.”
However, any hopes of a recovery quickly evaporated.
“On the 11th of May at 5.24pm the hospital called me and informed me that he had passed away,” Alexandria said.
Coroner McCauley was shown photos of the stairs, which he said were “rather steep”.
Mrs Kemmy said her dad was well used to the layout of the house however, and had been there many times before.
“My mum was saying that she would always hear him getting up, but she never heard him get up that night and that’s what annoys her until today,” she said.
In his deposition, consultant anesthetist at Letterkenny University Hospital, Dr Doherty, said he took charge of a patient with a non-survivable brain injury following a fall on Friday, May 10, 2024.
“Throughout the next 24 hours my team and I worked hard to reverse any abnormalities in the patient’s vital and blood parameters and allowing time for brain swelling to subside.
However, it was apparent that he showed signs of brain stem death.”
Neurosurgical teams at Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital stated that Mr Szulik’s injury could not be remedied by surgery.
The inquest then heard how Mr Szulik was pronounced brain stem dead on Saturday evening, May 11, 2024 – before he donated three organs the following day.
Garda Rachel Keane told the Coroner’s Court that Superintendent Shaun Grant had designated the room in the intensive care unit of Letterkenny Hospital as a scene where the body of Franciszek Zulek was situated.
Garda Keane was present for the autopsy which was performed by State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster on Monday, May 13, 2024.
“At 4.10pm, I spoke with Inspector Paul Gallagher and he informed me of his consultation with Dr Bolster, that there was no evidence of third-party involvement and all injuries were consistent with the fall,” Garda Keane said.
Coroner McCauley asked: “You felt this was just an accident?”
“Yes,” answered Garda Keane.
Dr Gerry O’Dowd, Letterkenny pathologist, outlined the findings of Dr Bolster following post-mortem.
He said Mr Szulik sustained a “very significant head injury”, including depressed skull fractures and bleeding to the brain.
An internal examination also showed signs of severe coronary artery disease.
A toxicology report revealed that Mr Szulik had a blood-alcohol concentration of 51 milligrammes at the time of death, which would be the equivalent of just two drinks. There were no other drugs detected in his system.
Dr O’Dowd revealed how Dr Bolster had concluded that the injuries were consistent with a single impact to the right side of the body, consistent with a fall.
Coroner McCauley ruled the cause of death as traumatic brain injury, secondary to the fall.
He said it was a tragic accident and that alcohol – at such a low level – was not a factor.
“The alcohol level would be 50, which would be the drink-driving limit. So it wasn’t a big level of alcohol. It wouldn’t have been a contributing factor.”
“This is just an accident, a terrible accident.”
Coroner McCauley offered his deepest condolences to Mr Szulik’s family, both in Inishowen and in Poland.
“It was a terrible shock to the whole family that night,” he said.
“His skull had broken and he was still conscious. I think probably at that stage, you were sort of reassured. But then everything just became so difficult after that.”
Mr Szulik’s family members present at the inquest said the most positive aspect of the tragedy is that three people have since benefitted from his organs.
Meanwhile, Sergeant Conor Mulkearns also expressed his sympathy on behalf of An Garda Siochana.
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