The Inquest into the tragic death of Greg Roult will begin at 10am on Monday 20th January, at Preston Coroner’s Court.
Greg, who was 27 years old and from Lancashire, tragically died in March 2015 after suffering a seizure whilst staying at the five star Hotel Sonesta in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt. He was on the Thomas Cook holiday with his two carers, who were employed by Lancashire County Council.
He was found lying at the bottom of the pool and was subsequently lifted to the surface. Despite attempts to save Greg, he sadly died later that day in hospital.
Greg was born with a number of complex needs and started to have epileptic seizures as a small child and would have as many as five seizures a day, which were eventually controlled and reduced with medication. He did however remain prone to having seizures and could experience up to three seizures a month. Greg was described by his parents as a fun loving character who loved music and swimming and doing activities.
Five years on, a lot of information about the circumstances surrounding Greg’s death is unknown. His parents still have a number of questions pertaining to his care and supervision whilst in the pool, the medical support available at the resort, safety aspects of the pool, including lifeguard support, and the chain of events from calling an ambulance to Greg’s hospital admission.
The Inquest will be heard with a Jury, who will hear evidence from a number of witnesses including medical experts, Greg’s carers, hotel guests who witnessed the tragic events and representatives from Thomas Cook.
Kelly Darlington, Solicitor for Greg’s parents commented:
Greg’s parents, Stephen and Angela, are still in search of answers with regard to the circumstances in which their son died. They have had to wait 5 years to find out what exactly happened, largely due to the difficulties the authorities have had in getting information from Egypt.
The family added; “No parent should have to go through this ordeal. We hope that the inquest process can tell us more about how Greg died and whether his death could have been prevented.”
The family is represented by Kelly Darlington of Farleys Solicitors LLP and Simon Murray of St John’s Buildings.