Inquest hears young Leitrim farmer's death could have been averted

An inquest in Sligo last Monday returned a verdict of medical misadventure in the case of a 31-year-old Leitrim farmer who was gored by a bull on the family farm on February 2, 2019 and died 12 days later in Sligo University Hospital.

Anthony Cull, Castlefore, Keshcarrigan, Co Leitrim suffered a shoulder dislocation and muscle injuries after he was attacked and struck with force by the animal while cleaning a pen on February 2 at the farm in Keshcarrigan.

He attended Sligo University Hospital and was treated for his injuries.

He was discharged on February 7 but collapsed at home two days later and returned to the hospital on February 9.

On this second occasion, he was not given a CT pulmonary angiogram which would have shown up the presence of blood clots in his lungs and would have “in all likelihood averted the tragedy of his death.”
He was discharged home after two hours.

After again becoming unwell at home, Mr Cull returned to the hospital for a third time.

On attending the emergency department on February 14, he was seen by a consultant in emergency medicine and it was arranged for him to have an urgent CT scan which confirmed he had a pulmonary embolism. It was a very large saddle embolism which has a very high mortality rate.

He was administered a “clot buster” drug. Despite treatment he became more unstable and had a cardiac arrest. He did not respond to resuscitation and he was declared dead at 4.08pm.

An autopsy report found that Mr Cull had died from bilateral pulmonary emboli and congestion in both lungs following on from an injury received from a bull while working on a farm.

Anthony's parents Gerard and Dympna, sister Nicola, and best friend Kevin Scollan were present at the hearing.

Speaking after the inquest, Gabriel Toolan, solicitor acting for the Cull family, said it was “just unthinkable that something of this magnitude could have happened.”

Mr Toolan said lessons seem to have been recognised and protocols implemented which is a source of some solace to the family, “but obviously nothing can replace or substitute the intense loss and grief the family have experienced over the past four years.”

He described Anthony as “an extraordinary young man” who had developed his own electrician's business, and was very successful and very popular.

“He helped his father throughout his life on the family farm and they were in the process of transferring the farm and Gerard was looking forward to retirement.

“Whilst there was the initial trauma of course of having suffered quite a serious injury on the farm, all the expectations were that he was going to recover and he was expected to recover.”