Death case goes global

A British Coroner has questioned the ruling of a Bermudian inquest into the sudden death of an expatriate on the island.

Norman Palmer died on August 12, 2008 — just six days after he went to hospital suffering from breathing problems.

His family told an inquest in his home town yesterday that his body had been ‘brutally mutilated’ with several vital organs including his brain being removed without their permission.

But East Somerset Coroner Tony Williams said that it was ‘not uncommon’ for bodies to be returned to the UK with body parts missing. And the absence of a Human Tissue Act in Bermuda meant that organs could be removed without family consent.

The original inquest in Bermuda in January 2009 ruled Mr Palmer had died of natural causes contributed to by self-neglect – a decision that was upheld on appeal.

And coroner, Khamisi Tokunbo, urged authorities to look at the adequacy of ambulance practices in light of the fact it took medics nearly 10 minutes to get to Mr Palmer’s Paget home on the night of his death.

But the South West News Service (SWNS) reported yesterday that Mr Williams said he had “deep reservations” about that finding of self-neglect.

He also said he would write to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital on behalf of Mr Palmer’s family to see if the Bermudian coroner’s recommendations on ambulance improvements had been acted on.

Mr Williams added: “The specific terminology used [for that ruling] is ‘gross failure to obtain basic medical attention’ and in respect to such a finding I have a gentleman who has attended at hospital on the 6th of April, has been allowed to leave that hospital — at least with some dispute with the advice he was given — but left and he then saw his GP who examined him on the 9th of April and followed the advice of that GP.

“It therefore seems to me that neither of these tests apply.”

Mr Palmer of Somerset, England, had been living with his wife, Kathleen, on the island for 30 years when he died. SWNS reported that yesterday she told the inquest: “I cannot bring myself to think what that pathologist did to Norm and how she brutally mutilated his body. It’s beyond comprehension.

“We didn’t bury a human being — we only buried a shell of a person who was my companion and soul mate. Somebody needs to be held responsible for this despicable act. I still cannot come to terms that by husband is laying in a grave in the UK.”

But the East Somerset Coroner said: “I am satisfied from the inquiries carried out that his body parts did not go missing in this country.

“Because of the lack of a Human Tissue Act in Bermuda that means that the family were not advised about the removal of these body parts and it only came to light as a result of our investigation.”

The coroner recorded a narrative verdict, concluding Mr Palmer had died of respiratory failure caused by asthma related mucus plugging his lungs combined with a build-up of scar tissue from his old gun shot injury.

Speaking outside court, Mr Palmer’s sister criticised the Bermudian authorities. Heather Carberry, of Yeovil, told reporters: “They mutilated my brother. It was just like a horror story.

“It makes me wonder whether they could have saved him or were they just going to take his body parts. Where are they? What did they do with them?”

The story was widely reported yesterday by the UK’s national newspapers and the BBC.

The Bermuda Sun contacted the Bermuda Hospitals Board for comment on this story, but no response was forthcoming by the time we went to press.