A woman who died after falling from a clifftop had faced a battle to recover after contracting coronavirus, an inquest was told. Helen Elizabeth McCabe was found at the foot of Huntcliff, in Saltburn in December last year.
Monday's hearing was told how she had suffered from "long covid" and faced problems with her physical health in the months prior to her death. However there had been "no indication" that she was contemplating taking her own life, her family said.
The 47-year-old was seen walking in Saltburn on the day of her death by a member of the public. She had a backpack and a walking stick, Teesside Live reports.
The hearing was told how when the walker returned later they found the bag and walking stick "on the edge of the cliff". There were also "scuff marks on the soil".
The inquest heard how there was medication inside the backpack. This led the member of the public raised the alarm.
Cleveland Police and the North East Ambulance Service were called to the scene. Paramedics confirmed Ms McCabe had sadly passed away at the bottom of the cliffs.
A post mortem was conducted by Dr Sowmya Venkatesan and confirmed Ms McCabe died from "multiple traumatic injuries from a fall from height". Toxicological tests revealed that Ms McCabe had "therapeutic levels" of medication in her system.
Assistant coroner for Teesside and Hartlepool Karin Welsh said Ms McCabe had been "suffering from long covid "in the weeks prior to her death and "struggling from a medical point of view" which had impacted on her mental health.
A number of Ms McCabe's family attended the inquest, including her brother, uncle and sister-in-law, who told how they weren't "fully aware" of her mental state prior to her death. The inquest heard how she had contacted a number of doctors about her physical health problems over an 18-month period.
"There was absolutely no indication that she would contemplate taking her own life," they added. Assistant coroner Welsh recorded that Ms McCabe "died as a result of a fall in circumstances that couldn't be ascertained".
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