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BT manager in ‘allergy’ death
A BRITISH Telecom manager died after suffering an allergic shock during a business meeting, an inquest has heard.
Deborah March, 46, collapsed in the staff canteen of the BT building in Judd Street, near the Town Hall in King’s Cross, in April as she discussed a work project with colleagues.
An inquest at St Pancras Coroner’s Court on Friday heard how the Cambridgeshire accountant had suffered a “sudden and unforeseeable allergic reaction” to an unknown substance.
Her husband Stephen March, a machine operator, described her as a “very fit” person who did not smoke and rarely drank.
Lesley Kellett, a work colleague, said: “She was relaxed, funny, engaging. We were laughing and joking. Totally out of the blue she said ‘I feel dizzy’. There was no outward sign. It was all very quiet and so sudden.”
Colleagues rushed to get first aid and put Mrs March into the recovery position. She was rushed to UCLH with an abnormal heart rhythm. Doctors attempted to restart her heart without success and she was pronounced dead.
Dr Alison Winstanley, consultant pathologist at UCH, said the post mortem examination had revealed swelling in Mrs March’s airways consistent with an allergic reaction. Dr Winstanley added it was “not possible to tell” the cause of the reaction.
Adjourning the inquest, coroner Dr Andrew Reid witheld his final verdict due to “technical problems” with a toxicology report that meant it could not be relied on.
He said: “My conclusion is Deborah March probably died of natural causes due to a sudden and unforeseeable allergic reaction to a substance that is otherwise not identified. It was clearly very sudden and there was nothing her colleagues could do.” |
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