Kickboxer ‘died from a fluke blow’
Inquest hears of long wait for medics
COURT: A teenage kickboxer died due to a rare medical “fluke” when a blow to his chest caused a cardiac arrest during a championship bout, a consultant paediatric pathologist has told an inquest.
Scott Marsden, 14, from Sheffield, collapsed in the final seconds of the fifth round of a fight in Leeds in March 2017.
A TEENAGE kickboxer died due to a rare medical “fluke” when a blow to his chest caused a cardiac arrest during a championship bout, a pathologist has told an inquest.
Scott Marsden, 14, from Sheffield, collapsed in the final seconds of the fifth round of a fight in Leeds in March 2017.
Consultant paediatric pathologist Kerry Turner told a coroner that Scott died from commotiocordis, which is a rare disruption of the heart’s rhythm caused by a direct blow at a specific moment in the heart beat cycle.
Dr Turner said this condition is rare because it has to have three elements – the impact, the location directly over the heart and the right timing in the heart’s cycle.
She told the inquest in Wakefield: “It is a tragic fluke that all three things line up in the correct way.”
She added: “For all these things to line up in the right way is very rare.”
The pathologist said Scott had no pre-existing heart defects. But she said her conclusion was a “diagnosis of exclusion” because she could find no other explanation for why the teenager went into cardiac arrest.
Paul Lynch told the inquest it was the fourth event he had put on at his Leeds Martial Arts College, in Morley, but the first which was “full contact”. Mr Lynch said
the bouts took place under the World Kickboxing Association (WKA) rules.
He said a private medical team was at the event which he sourced from an organisation called TopCat. He said a doctor he had used for pre-fight checks at previous events was at the event only in a social capacity and she was heavily pregnant at the time.
Mr Lynch told the inquest: “I was under the impression I was booking a team of paramedics”.
He described how he was the MC of the event and witnessed Scott slump onto the ropes and was caught by the referee before he hit the ground. Jon Green, who was the UK president of the WKA and a judge on the night, said he also witnessed Scott fall following a spinning kick by his opponent, who was not named in court.
Mr Green said he thought the final kick hit Scott on his shoulder. He stressed the competition rules stated that a “physician” should be present at bouts.
Mr Green said he thought the doctor referred to by Mr Lynch was “there in an official capacity”, and added: “I had no reason to question that.”
The official said he thought the NHS ambulance called to the scene took 40 minutes to arrive and questioned official figures that a crew arrived in 21 minutes. He said that, when the ambulance arrived, the crew seemed “in no rush whatsoever”.
Ian Furber, an emergency medical technician, was asked by Scott’s father, Simon, whether he thought he was out of his depth when he treated the teenager before the NHS team arrived. Mr Furber maintained that he did not.
The inquest was adjourned until today when it is expected to finish.
It is a tragic fluke that all three things line up in the correct way. Consultant paediatric pathologist Kerry Turner giving evidence