Undertaker accidentally killed by lift, jury rules

18 hours ago

Paul Moseley

A jury at Norfolk Coroner's Court concluded Sally Blundell's death was accidental

Martin Giles/BBC Norfolk Coroner's Court, featuring the royal crest on a gold-clad building, which features windows and metal panels coloured in beige, white and mustard yellow. — A jury at Norfolk Coroner's Court concluded Sally Blundell's death was accidental

An undertaker was accidentally crushed to death when a machine used to move bodies from cold storage unexpectedly descended onto her, an inquest concluded.

Funeral administrator Sally Blundell, 58, was found trapped underneath the device in a back room at a branch of the East of England Co-op Funeral Services in Swaffham, Norfolk.

The grandmother had been working alone on 1 December 2023 and was found by a colleague from a neighbouring branch.

The coroner earlier told the hearing it was not known why Blundell had "inserted herself" in the scissor frame of the device, but that her glasses had been found on the floor.

The lift was used to move bodies into fridges in the back room of the funeral parlour

PA Media A white metal device, with a lifting bed, scissor lift and a black hydraulic pump on the bottom, in a clinical room. — The lift was used to move bodies into fridges in the back room of the funeral parlour

Jurors returned a conclusion of accidental death after hearing evidence at an inquest at Norfolk Coroner's Court, Norwich, on the third day of proceedings.

They recorded that she died at some point between 09:46 GMT, when she was last seen on CCTV at the funeral parlour, and 12:06 when she was found.

The inquest was earlier told there were no CCTV cameras in sensitive areas of the funeral parlour where bodies were kept.

Concerns had been raised after a woman who had made arrangements to see a deceased relative at the branch attended for her appointment and found there were no staff at the funeral parlour.

She tried calling the celebrant she had been dealing with and a message was passed to another branch, with a colleague from Dereham attending and finding Blundell's body.

The medical cause of death for Blundell, of Great Cressingham, Norfolk, was recorded as "contusion and compression of the chest by an external object".

Emergency services including the air ambulance were called to Swaffham in December 2023

Google Co-op Funeral Services building in Swaffham. It is a yellow brick building with large glass windows and a glass door entrance. The name of the funeral parlour sits above the entrance. — Emergency services including the air ambulance were called to Swaffham in December 2023

Norfolk area coroner Yvonne Blake told jurors that expert evidence indicated a fault was found with the hydraulic scissor lift mortuary trolley after Blundell's death.

She said the fault was that the trolley "descended unexpectedly".

The coroner said she was considering writing to the equipment's manufacturer A R Twigg and Son with her concerns about this issue in a prevention of future deaths report.

She was told by barrister Dominic Kay for the East of England Co-op that the chain no longer uses this type of trolley.

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