A ‘well-regarded’ former rugby player from Trafford died after falling down a flight of stairs at his local rugby club, an inquest has heard.
Philip Lamb, 70, from Sale, had been watching a rugby game at Sale Rugby Club's Corpacq Stadium on Heywood Road on the afternoon of December 18, 2021. An inquest into Philip’s death at South Manchester Coroner’s Court on Thursday (March 31) heard how he had been at the club’s first floor bar for more than four hours drinking with friends and his son, Chris.
Philip’s daughter-in-law Emma Woods arrived at the club at around 6.45pm that evening to pick Phil and Chris up. As they began walking down the stairs to leave the premises, Philip lost his footing and fell down the flight of stairs.
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The inquest heard how dad-of-three Philip fell ‘around four or five steps’ and landed face down on the floor. Son Chris was behind him at the time and witnessed the fall. Philip was found unresponsive and paramedics were called to the scene.
Former landscape gardener Philip had type 2 diabetes, hypertension and a history of gout. However, his daughter-in-law described him as having ‘generally good health for his age’ and had lost two stone in weight during 2021.
In a statement read out by police coroners officer Alison Catlow, Mrs Woods said: “He was the healthiest he had been for some time.” The inquest, led by assistant coroner Adrian Farrow, heard that Philip had booked himself in for a colonoscopy appointment to investigate possible bowel cancer just three days prior to his death.
When paramedics arrived at the scene, members of staff at the rugby club had already performed CPR on Philip and an onsite defibrillator had also been used. Assistant coroner Farrow said ‘appropriate first aid was given at the scene’.
Paramedics, who arrived eight minutes after being called, described Philip as being in cardiac arrest with no heartbeat when they arrived. They were later able to find a very slow pulse. He was brought into the emergency department at Salford Royal hospital at around 7.45pm.
A CT scan identified Philip had suffered three rib fractures and two fractures to his neck. Dr Anna Rennie, a consultant and onsite physician at the hospital, said his injuries would have likely led to issues with general movement and the ‘body's ability to control pulse rate and blood pressure’.
Dr Rennie added: “The trauma team felt that due to his injuries and prolonged cardiac arrest time that it would have been inevitable that he would have suffered serious brain injury. A decision was then made with the family for end-of-life care.”
Philip was sadly pronounced dead at 10.50pm that evening. His GP, Dr Simpson at the Bodmin Road Health Centre described Philip: “He was an extremely well-known and popular member of our neighbourhood. He was particularly highly-regarded amongst the rugby community.”
In a statement released by Sale FC following Philip's death, the club wrote: "Phil was held in such high regard from all who knew him, not only at his own club Ashton-on-Mersey, where he leaves a legacy that has seen him touch so many lives, but also his friends in the wider rugby community.
"The mark of the man was highlighted at our game yesterday (December 18), as explained by his son Chris who said, from the moment he arrived at the back gate, it took him 25 minutes to do the short walk to the club house. This was because he stopped every few metres, to take the time to talk to friends and people he knew who where at the game."
Assistant coroner Farrow said Phil’s family didn’t raise any questions or concerns in relation to the incident. Initial reports suggested the rugby club’s stairwell had not been fitted with handrails, but it was later confirmed through an investigation that handrails had been ‘in situ at the club for quite a while’.
Mr Farrow told the inquest: “Philip was well-regarded and well-liked, particularly within the rugby community. He had attended the gym regularly. On the day of his death, he had watched a match at Sale Rugby Club with his friends and his son.
“Mr Lamb was in the process of walking down the stairs to leave the clubhouse shortly after 6.45pm on the evening of December 18, 2021 when he lost his footing on the stairs and fell.”
He added: “He was waiting for an appointment for an investigation into possible bowel cancer but I am convinced that concern played no part in his death. He had also been drinking that afternoon but there is no evidence to suggest he had been affected by that.
“Sadly, the effects of the spinal injury and the resulting cardiac arrest meant it was inevitable that Mr Lamb had sustained a hypoxic brain injury from which he could not recover.” The coroner concluded that Philip died from a cerival spine fraction following a witnessed fall.
