Man strangled by bed’s electrical wires

His death was the outcome of a series of tragic coincidences.

An elderly man with a mental age of 9 was accidentally strangled to death after becoming tangled in electrical wires from his bed, a coroner has found.

Eric Patrick Haydon, 70, was found dead at his care home in Waimairi Beach, Christchurch, on the morning of July 31, 2014.

Coroner David Crerar’s report said Haydon, who was intellectually handicapped and suffered mild dementia, went to bed with a high temperature and a sore throat.

Carer Marie Court thought Haydon was asleep when she checked on him at 3.30am. She did not turn on the light. When she returned at 6am to administer his medication, he was not in bed.

She searched the bathroom, and the rest of the property, before returning to Haydon’s room and finding him lying face down beneath his hospital bed, which had electrical adjustments.

When she pulled the bed away from the wall, she saw he had electrical cords wrapped tightly around his neck and waist. Para- medics could not resuscitate him.

Police initially investigated Haydon’s death as ‘‘suspicious’’.

Pathologist Dr David Sage carried out an autopsy and found Haydon died of accidental strangulation. He was probably delirious from his flu-like symptoms, he said.

In findings released yesterday, Crerar said there was ‘‘a lack of clarity and a lack of certainty’’ as to how Haydon became trapped.

‘‘A likely scenario is that, due to his delirium, Eric Haydon fell, then became trapped and tangled and then panicked,’’ Crerar said.

‘‘Instead of calling for help, he has struggled and twisted and tightened the cords around him.’’

Crerar found no evidence that NZCare Disability, who run the home, or any caregiver failed in their responsibilities towards Haydon. ‘‘His death was the outcome of a series of tragic coincidences.’’

Crerar recommended NZCare conduct a safety review into the beds it uses for its patients, with attention given to securing loose electrical wiring.

NZCare Disability general manager Vicki Stewart said the organisation ‘‘immediately’’ undertook a nationwide review of all its beds.

‘‘Action has been taken in the form of ensuring that all cables on electric beds are secured and regularly monitored,’’ she said. ‘‘This was an unfortunate and tragic accident and we were deeply saddened by the death of Mr Haydon.’’