[Article] Coroner commends crash victim who donated organs

Victor

http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/breaking/5349547?view=Eircomnet

Coroner commends crash victim who donated organs
From:ireland.com
Thursday, 7th April, 2005

The family of a 19-year-old man donated his organs to five people after he died in a car accident, an inquest heard tonight.

The Dublin City Coroner commended the parents of Christopher Nugent from Slane in Co Meath for their generous gesture, which particularly helped two other young men, after his death on August 5th, 2004.

Paschal and Jenny Nugent said: "That is just the way Christopher was, it was a very easy decision to make."

The inquest heard that Mr Nugent turned 19 in the intensive care unit at Dublin's Beaumont Hospital on August 2nd and was pronounced dead three days later.

Mr Nugent said the family would never understand how the accident had occurred on July 29th, 2004 on the Rosnaree Road to Drogheda - just 10 minutes after he left the house on a road which they had driven thousands of times.

The inquest heard the Rosnaree Hill, where the young driver crashed in a single car accident around 8.40pm, had a warning sign as it was a severe incline with two bends.

The jury, which passed a verdict of accidental death, recommended that the traffic division of Meath Co Co review of the current speed limits on the hill, consider displaying signs in areas where wildlife are prevalent and carry out a general engineering report to assess the safety of the stretch of road.

Garda Frank Goodman told the court there was no indication that Mr Nugent was speeding at the time of the accident - the speed limit on the road was 60 miles per hour at the time. The speed limit on the road has since been reduced to around 80 kmh (51mph).

The inquest heard that neighbours had met him close to the top of the steep hill and he was not travelling at an excessive speed. His father said there were two steep turns close to the top of the hill and if he had been speeding would not have made it through the turns.

The court heard that it appeared the learner driver somehow lost control of his blue Ford Fiesta as he went down Rosnaree Hill - crossing over the road before colliding side on with a derelict shed.

A garda told the court that there had been previous accidents at the hill for a variety of reasons. Gda Goodman said there had been a slight rain shower and parts of the road were shaded. He said there were skid marks on the gradient which stretched 108 feet before the collision with the shed.

The family raised suggestions that maybe a deer had crossed the road in front of Mr Nugent from the wooded area and caused him to swerve or he may have tipped a boulder at the side of the road. However, the garda said there was no evidence that he had tipped off the boulders.

The post mortem exam revealed he had died from severe head injuries, which included a fracture to the base of the skull.

PA

So he's a 19 year old learner driver, driving by himself on a road [strike]he[/strike] they drove on thousands of times ....

Capt'n Midnight

Get out your driving license
Go to the back page
Tick the Kidney and Multiple-organ donor boxes and then sign it.


We should adopt the system used on the continent France? where organ donation is opt out. You simply register on a database that holds the names of the opt out people. In this country donations are only about 1/3 of what's needed.

Alun

What is the situation here in Ireland exactly? I know that in some countries that have an opt-in system like we do here, that even if I have given permission myself by having a donor card on me, that they still have to ask permission from next-of-kin as well? Now that's really stupid!

Me, I'm all for an opt-out system with absolutely no say from grief-stricken and temporarily irrational relatives.