BOY’S DEATH IN HOSPITAL.
INQUEST OPENED.
This morning an inquest was opened at the hospital into the cause and circumstances of the death of David Edwin Bishopp, 10 years of age, who died in the institution at 1 o'clock this morning. He was admitted on July 12 suffering from a broken thigh, which he contracted while playing in a dray, the shaft of which struck him on the leg.
Mr J. H. Bartholomew, S.M., sat as coroner, and the police were represented by Sergeant Gilligan.
Dr Kendrick, house surgeon, gave evidence as to the admission of deceased to the hospital. The right thigh was put up in a splint, and it was attempted to correct the position of the bone ends without an operation, but the attempt was not successful. An operation was performed by Dr Linden on July 31, with the object of wiring the bone ends. The operation was successful, but the boy showed symptoms of shock twelve hours later. Blood transfusion was performed at 7 o’clock last night. Pernicious vomiting had begun at midday yesterday. The cause of this could not be stated definitely. The cause of death was post-operative shock, together with prolonged pernicious vomiting.
David James Bishopp, father of the deceased, a cooper living at Mornington, identified the body, and gave evidence that the boy had told him that four boys wore playing about the cart. They were holding up the shaft by the pole. The cart was being emptied, and the weight came on the shafts, which fell. The three other boys ran away and left deceased with the weight of a shaft which came down. He had endeavored to dodge, and the shaft had struck his leg The cart was in charge of Mr Percy Baxter, employed by Job Mill and Co. He was carting a load of manure at the time of the accident..
The inquest was then adjourned to Wednesday next. -Evening Star, 2/8/1924.
STRUCK BY A DRAY SHAFT
BOY’S DEATH IN HOSPITAL.
This morning Mr J. B. Bartholomew, S.M., sitting as coroner, concluded the inquest on the death of David Edwin Bishopp, the ten-year-old boy who died in the hospital last Thursday, following admission and treatment for a fractured thigh.
Sergeant McEntee conducted the inquiry for the police.
Mr Baxter, the driver of the dray by which the boy was injured, was represented by Mr Hanlon.
John Walter Baxter, a carter employed by John Mill and Co., said that he was taking a load of manure to Mornington on July 12. He pulled into an empty section, unyoked his horses, and tipped the dray up. He went round to the back of the dray, and started to fork out the manure. He had put the propstick down for the shafts to rest on in case the dray fell. Nearly all the manure was out of the dray, when the dray tipped, and, instead of falling on the propstick, the weight came down on the shafts. He heard a boy crying, and went round and found the deceased lying near the shafts. The boy said that his leg was sore, and, on feeling it, witness realised that it was broken. Before the accident he had given the boys a ride, and when he went to unload he told them to run away and play. He often gave the boys a ride in the cart. Witness went for assistance, and got the lad a drink of water. After the ambulance went away witness took the other boys back to their homes in the dray.
To the coroner, witness said that to account for the propstick not acting he supposed that it had been interfered with by the boys. It should have held up the dray unless swung off the straight.
William Henry Young, ten years of age, one of the boys who had been playing with deceased, said that five schoolboys were present. They all saw the shafts coming down, and witness saw the shaft strike deceased on the leg. He did not see it strike any other part of the body first. No one had interfered with the shaft. The other boys ran away when the shaft fell.
The Coroner said that the statements made by the last witness seemed quite a reasonable account of the occurrence, and were in keeping with the explanation given by the deceased to his father. The case was one of those unfortunate ones that would crop up from time to time. No blame seemed to be attachable to anyone. It was all very well to be wise after the event, but Mr Baxter (the driver of the cart) had nothing to rouse his suspicions as to the boys being in danger. The verdict would be that death was due to shock and pernicious vomiting following a necessary operation in the hospital for a fractured thigh contracted through the shaft of a dray falling on deceased. -Evening Star, 6/8/1924.
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