Victim’s fury as cops and safety experts fail to investigate
have been carried out by the police, the council or the Health and Safety Executive to find out exactly what happened and to make sure nothing similar ever happens again?”
Lee had been working alongside her husband Gavin at the golf shop they ran on Dalry Road when on a blustery morning in June 2018 she went out for milk. She has no memory of what happened next.
Lee, of Corstorphine, Edinburgh, said: “I know from what other people have told me that I was walking past f lats owned by Dunedin Canmore Housing Association when I was struck on the top of my head by what could have been a roof tile or a chunk of breeze block.
“The ambulance report says that whatever hit me fell approximately 60ft. It says bystanders told them I was walking, I was hit and I fell backwards like a plank. The doctors told my family that night that my chance of survival stood at just two per cent.
“People look at me now and think I’ve recovered well and that I’m lucky to be alive – and I know I am. But I’ll never be the same person I was when I left our shop that morning.
“The head injury I suffered might look physically healed but mentally I’m crippled. I’ve been left with overwhelming anxiety. Personalitywise, I’ve changed in so many ways.
“I try my best to be as strong as possible but it’s a battle every day. There are days I wish the doctors hadn’t fixed me. There are days I want to close my eyes and not wake up.”
Lee suffered the devastating injury on June 14, 2018, as Storm Hector battered Scotland.
As she was raced to hospital, police officers sealed off the area under the four- storey DunDunedin Canmore flats, which were built in 2000.
Staff from DunDunedin Canmore were spotted at the scenesce a short time later wearing protectiprotective hard-hats as they stood close to the spot where Lee was
When Olympic rower James Cracknell split with his wife of 17 years, he blamed the break-up on the long-lasting effects of a devastating brain injury he suffered.
In 2010, James had been cycling hit . The Sunday Mai l this week contacted all three statutory bodies who could have played a role in investigating the incident.
Police Scotland said they referred the matter to the Health and Safety Executive.
The Health and Safety Executive said it was outside their remit and should have been investigated instead by the local authority.
The City of Edinburgh Council said it had left any investigation into what had happened to the building’s owners, Dunedin Canmore.
Counci l lor Ala sdai r Rankin, convener of the f inance and resources committee, said: “It is the responsibility of all property owners to maintain and carry out repairs to the buildings they own.
“In this case, the housing association had everything in hand and had made the site safe by the time we arrived across America when he was hit from behind by a lorry’s wing mirror.
He said the damage caused to his brain was life-changing, altering his personality and leading to the split from Beverley Turner.
James added: “I didn’t so there was no need for us to take further action.”
Lee said she and her family – including husband Gavin, 59, daughter Haley, 22, son Max, 19, and her parents Ken and Jennifer Pollard – will never recover from the trauma of what happened.
She woke from her coma after two weeks and remained in hospital for two months.
Lee said: “When I first woke up, I was paralysed down one side, I couldn’t see properly, I couldn’t walk and I couldn’t speak.
“I remember my uncle coming into the hospital and feeling so scared and upset as no words would come out of my mouth. But I worked so hard to recover. I pushed myself every day.”
Whi le physical ly she astounded doctors with her progress, the mental scars are yet to heal.
Lee, who had surgery in November to correct the double vision she had have much recollection of 2010, really, but I do know I became more stubborn, selfish and dedicated. Bev had it really hard. She had one husband for the first eight years we were married and a very different one for the rest.”
Brain injury charity Headway
“We have really comprehensive investigative procedures when things like this happen so they are not allowed to happen again.”
Almost two years on from her injury, no one from Dunedin Canmore has directly contacted Lee or her family.
She has received no compensation for the injuries she suffered.
She is now seeking legal advice and has launched an appeal for anyone who may have any information regarding the condition of the Dunedin Canmore roof and building at 160 Dalry Road before or on the day of Storm Hector to get in touch.
She also wants to hear from anyone who witnessed her being struck or the aftermath.
Lee’s dad said: “I passed the Dunedin Canmore flats a week or so after Lee was injured and it looked like they were replacing the entire roof. You don’t replace an entire roof for the sake of a damaged or missing tile.
“We would like to hear from anyone who has any information about the state of the building and roof before Lee was hit.”
Anyone with information is asked to email Lee4allinfo@gmail.com
A Dunedin Canmore spokesman said: “Our sympathies are very much with this lady. However, we cannot comment further in the circumstances.”
It’s a real battle. There are days I wish the doctors hadn’t fixed me
says personality changes, anxiety, rapidly changing mood swings that can include being tearful, depression, frustration, reduced control of anger and PTSD are common ‘hidden disabilities’ that can follow a head injury.