The inquest into the death of Luke Brooks has resumed today (7th August 2023) at Greater Manchester North Coroner’s Court in front of HM Senior Coroner Ms Joanne Kearsley. The inquest is scheduled to last 5 days.
Luke Brooks sadly passed away in October 2022, when he was twenty-seven years old. He lived in a privately rented house with his mother and father in Oldham.
The family first moved into the privately rented accommodation in 2014. They immediately encountered problems such as the boiler not working and having no hot water. The central heating system was also faulty and the family were forced to live in extremely cold and damp conditions several times throughout their tenancy.
The family had made several complaints to the landlord about the condition of the property over the 9 years of living there, particularly regarding the mould and damp in the bathroom and bedrooms.
In the few days prior to his death, Luke developed difficulty breathing, a rash, and was very weak. He contacted several healthcare providers for advice who told him he had a viral infection. Luke’s mother, Patricia, tried to get Luke an appointment at the GP but she could not get him seen.
On the 25th October 2022, Luke woke up as normal but minutes later he started to have a seizure. The family responded immediately by dialling 999 with paramedics and air ambulance arriving 15 minutes later. Sadly, Luke was pronounced dead the same day.
The Interested Persons for the inquest are:
-
Luke Brooks’ family
-
The property’s landlords
-
Oldham Borough Council
-
North West Ambulance Service
-
Go To Doc
The Inquest into Luke’s death will explore the medical cause of death which has been recorded as:
1a. Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)
due to or as a consequence of;
1b. Aspergillus Pneumonia
due to or as a consequence of;
1c. Heavily Mould Infested Accommodation.
Furthermore, the Coroner will investigate the origin of the Aspergillus and the actions of healthcare providers when Luke’s condition deteriorated, in particular Go To Doc and NWAS.
The family is represented by Kelly Darlington of Farleys Solicitors and Christian Weaver of Garden Court North Chambers.
This is the second inquest into a mould-related death in the Greater Manchester area where Kelly and Christian have worked together to represent the family, following the inquest into the death of Awaab Ishak in 2022.