Stair lift failure leads to death

Ninety-year-old Gwendoline Rhymer was helped onto the stair lift at the top of the stairs in her home in Birdwell Barnsley by her granddaughter and carer Joanne Rhymer on the morning of 12 July 2008.

But the seat suddenly tilted because two bolts on the seat sheared off and Mrs Rhymer fell to the bottom of the stairs.

This was despite a call her granddaughter made to the stair lift maintenance company Obam Lift Services and its annual service of the lift finding no faults.

Coroner Donald Coots-Wood delivered a narrative verdict at Sheffield coroner’s court last week, which showed Mrs Rhymer died from fluid on the lungs after a heart-attack brought on by the trauma of the fall. She already had a coronary artery atheroma, or a ‘furring up’ of the coronary arteries.

The verdict read: ‘With the assistance of her granddaugther Joanne Rhymer, she sat on the seat of the stair lift with a view to descending the stairs.

‘As she did so, the seat suddenly tilted as a result of the failure of the two seat levelling cap screws, causing Mrs Rhymer to fall down the stairs and sustain multiple injuries including fractured ribs and bruising.’

She was admitted to Barnsley District General Hospital but she died on 15 July 2008. Barnsley council contracted firm Meditek to install the lift in July 2006 for Mrs Rhymer and her husband, who died in October 2006.

The lift was supplied by Meditek, which sub-contracted Obam Lift Services to install the lift. Obam did an annual service of the lift on 10 July 2007 but found no faults and decided the lift did not require any ‘additional work’ done to it.

Mrs Rhymer called Obam on 5 July 2008 to report a problem but ‘there was no attendance at the address following that report’, the verdict says.

Stephen Davis, director of asset management regeneration and construction at Berneslai Homes, the arm’s-length management organisation that manages 19,500 properties for the council, said: ‘This has been a difficult time for the family of Mrs Rhymer and we extend our sympathy to them and hope the coroner’s verdict provides some closure.  

‘As was confirmed at the hearing we no longer use Meditek for the installation and servicing of stair lifts. There is no further comment over and above the coroner’s narrative as provided.’

Phil Rice, director of Meditek, said he did not wish to comment at the current time. Obam Lift Services was not available for comment.

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