Man died of drug overdose
A man who never fully recovered from a motorbike accident died of a drug overdose, an inquest heard.
Hatfield Coroner's Court was told Sean Hanrahan, of Guinery Grove in Hemel Hempstead, had 'potentially fatal' levels of painkillers in his blood.
His body was discovered on April 22 on a narrow boat he owned called 'White Lightening' that was moored on the Grand Union Canal near the Fishery Inn.
The 42 year old had been involved in a crash abroad where he was not wearing a helmet and suffered a broken jaw and missing teeth.
The court was told Mr Hanrahan 'recovered physically but not mentally' from the accident.
Giving evidence Marney Nicol, who lived on a neighbouring narrow boat, told the court: "He was very low and unmotivated, struggling with his physical sypmtoms.
"He did start to talk about suicide and paranoid things; his flat was being bugged. In the end that was all he spoke about. There was one occasion when he said if I'm going to do it I'm going to do it proper. That was when I got really worried and tried to talk to him about it. He seemed unconvinced by any other solution."
Mr Marney said he spoke to Mr Hanrahan on the night he died. "I tried to get him to come for a cup of tea. I said are you all right and he said yes. I waited on the boat for him to come for a cup of tea but he didn't," he said.
Mr Marney contacted Mr Hanrahan's father and the next day they discovered his body surrounded by blister packs. He was certified dead at the scene by a GP.
Coroner Dr Frances Cranfield said: "He was involved in a motorbike accident in the Dominican Republic. He returned to England for treatment for quite severe facial injuries requiring metal plating. He was severely depressed, changed and older.
"We have heard there was positivity in his life. He had a brand new phone. He had been talking about his boats and his bikes. He had arranged to come to his friend's house on the day of his death to put up a trampoline. He had complained to the friend about pain in his head and the sensation of water trickling down the inside of his head.
"The cause of death was drug toxicity and my verdict is that he died while the balance of his mind was disturbed."
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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