The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-03-14 00:00:00

LIIE LATE FATAL ACCIDENT AT THE
HAYES COLLIERY.

'The adjourned inquest ou the body of Thomas
Jartwright, aged 20, who died on the 20th tilt,
Po a injuries received whilst at work in the pp
on the lLb nit, was resurned by Mr. It. rocker,
at the Talbot Inn, Lye Waste, on Saturday last.
Mr. Perry appeared to watch the case un he.
ualf of Messrs. Fisher, the proprietor uf the
yes
he first w.tneFs called Was Elijah Pi itcharel,
s,dd he lived at the Lye, and worked at tile
,yes Collo ry. Ht we ut %yolk there on the
11th alt. Deceas Ai was at work with him on the
abovc date, helping him to lift a skip on to the
rails. Deceased was a loader ; witness was a
'rusher. Deceased was heaving a tub up with
him, and he tumbled do all. That was about 10
or 11 o'clock in the morning. Deceased was
assisting him to heave the skip on to the rails.
Ile tumbled down and said he had hurt himself.
He was hurt in the left side. Witness told him
he had better knock off, bat he said he should be
oetter presently. Witness loaded two or three
skips whilst deceased was sitting down. He sat
down and got better, and commenced to work
again in about half an hour. He worked until
night. He was also at work there at seven
o'clock on the morning of the next day. De-
ceased worked until breakfast time, and at eleven
o'clock he came up the pit along with witness.
ileecased did not complain to ,thriess of being
ill, but he told some of the other men that he
arks very bad. He came up at eleven o'clock.
Witness did not know why he knocked oft. He
saw deceased go up home when he went back
with him. Witness saw deceased against the
Bell, at one o'clock, with a dirty face. He
meant by this, that deceased had not washed
himself. Deceased told witness he was going
home to go to bed, lie said he Was very bail.
Witness saw deceased on the following Friday.
tie told witness to tell the butty that he could
cot come to work.

By the Foreman of the Jury: 1 did not see
him after that. Deceased requested the others
to ask witness to tell the master that he could
not come to work.

By the Coroner: I did not see him at all after
.hat.

In accordance with a suggestion from Mr.
Perrf

- A Juryman asked why they knocked off on th
Thurslay. --Wituesa replied that they did ISO
becane the horse was bad.

By the Coroner: Deceased said he should
knock off whether the horse was bad or not.

Sara.l Cartwright, who was the next witness
called, sail she was the wife of deceased. She
knew about the accident on the Wednesday,
when her husband catue back from work. When
deceased came in he lay down on the safe, and
said he bad hurt his bide; and directly after-
wards he began to vomit blood. That was on
the 11th. He said he had hurt himself whilst
pushing up a tub. He complained of pains at
the bottom of the stomach. He vomited blood
at intervals from the Wednesday until the follow.
in Sunday evening. He was no better on
Thursday morning, but he said he would go to
the pit and see what he could do towards work-
ing a bit. He stayed at work from half-past six
until half-past eleven o'clock, on the Thursday
morning. He then went home. That was on
r2th tilt. Deceased still complained of pain,
nod continued to vomit blood. His urine also
had the appearance of congealed blood. Ile
lay down on the sofa whilst witness made the
bed, and he then went to bed. Witness did not
send br the doctor, because she had hot paid
deceased's "Union money." She paid the
money on Monday, and then went to the pit for
a note. That was on the 16th. During the
whole of the time deceased continued in the
same state, vomiting blood occasionally. The
medical man sent for was Dr. Ker, but be did
not come until Wednesday. In the meantime,
Dr. Ker's assistant attended deceased on the
Monday and Tuesday. On the Wednesday Mr.
Ker himself came. Deceased got no better,and

died on the Friday morning about a quarter to
seven.

Mr. Hugh Richard Rer said he was a surgeon
living at Cradley Heath. His impression was
that he saw deceased on the Tuesday; but he
would not be confident about that. It was either
on the Tuesday or the Wednesday that he saw
deceased. Witness found him suffering from
inflammation of the peritoneum and of the
bowels. In consequence of that he was suffer.
big extreme pain in the bowels, and in the left
side. Deceased was in a critical position, and
appeared to he sinking, and approaching a state
of collapse. They told witness that deceased
had been vomiting blood ; but he saw nothing of
the kind. He did not pass water whilst witness
was there. He saw deceased again on the follow.
Mg day ( Thursday). He was changed for the
worse. The pain was more severe, and the in.
&imitation extending, and death approaching.
There were no external injuries. Vt itness did
speak to deceased, but the latter was hardly in a
fit state to talk about the accident. The mother
gave witness all the information respecting it.
He could hardly reconcile so extensive an injury
being caused by so slight a strain, because the
Passing of blood must have indicated a rupture
of the liver, or injury to the kidneys. It was
possible, but not probable. He could under-
stand it if a load of stuff had fallen on him.
The immediate cause of death was peritonitis,
or inflammation of the bowels, causing death by
exhaustion. It was a case of peritonitis.
In answer to the Foreman of the Jury, witness
said there was a possibility that deceased might
have been hurt by the strain to the extent to
cause the injuries from which the deceased died.
Ile could not tell.

A Juryman: The exhaustion was caused by
draining.
The Coroner summed up, and in doing so said
the 'deceased was at work in his usual health,
and was engaged in lifting a heavy weight, which
caused a strain, from which he died. The medi-
cal man seemed to think it rather strange that
a strain should have caused such extensive inter-
nal injuries as those indicated by the vomiting
of blood, Cie. Still he admitted that there was
a possibility that the injuries were caused in that
way, and in the absence of any evidence to the
contrary they could only assume that that was
the case in the present instance. If they came
to the conclusion that death resulted from the
deceased's own act, they would bring in a verdict
of "Accidental death." If they thought on the
c.,ntrary that the accident occurred through the
fault of any one else. Without, however, wish-
ing to control their verdict, he must remind
them that there was an entire absence of evi-
dence implicating anyone else in the affair.
The Jury, after a short deliberation, returned
is verdict of "Accidental death."