A woman who was wrongly declared dead at home later woke up in the mortuary, an inquest has heard.
Police, paramedics and family all attended Olive Martin’s address after she suffered a seizure.
But instead of being taken to the emergency department to receive care, the 54-year-old was transferred to Darlington Hospital Mortuary, where staff discovered she was still alive.
Coroner Jeremy Chipperfield told the court on Tuesday that brain damage was the cause of Ms Martin’s death, ‘albeit some time later’.
Tom Barclay Semple, representing her family, said there was a period of two hours during which she received ‘no treatment at all’ and asked whether the outcome would have been different if she had been taken straight to hospital instead of to the mortuary.
He asked: ‘What should that treatment have looked like?’ and questioned whether or not ‘her death could have been avoided or prolonged in some meaningful way’.
Mr Barclay Semple said it should be up to an expert witness from either emergency or intensive care to answer those questions.
The coroner told the court that he did not know how long Ms Martin had been starved of oxygen when she was found in her home on October 13, 2023.
But Mr Barclay Semple responded: ‘We know that when Olive was found in her kitchen she had put toast in her toaster.
‘That was the day when she was expected to go to work.
‘If that was when she was having her seizure we can extrapolate from that.’
He added that it would also be possible to work backwards from the time of day, and her body temperature.
James Donnelly, representing the North East Ambulance Service, told the court that Ms Martin was ‘observed in the mortuary to have some signs of life’.
He asked: ‘What would have happened if she had been immediately brought to the emergency department?’
John Gray, representing Durham Constabulary at Crook Coroner’s Court told the court that there had been evidence of ‘brain function’ and of Ms Martin ‘responding to stimuli either by verbal or gripping’.
The inquest has been adjourned until 2pm on January 30.
Durham Constabulary investigated the death at the time, but confirmed there would be no criminal charges.
Andrew Hodge, Director of Paramedicine at North East Ambulance Service, previously said: ‘As soon as we were made aware of this incident, we opened an investigation and contacted the patient’s family.
‘We are deeply sorry for the distress that this has caused them. A full review of this incident is being undertaken and we are unable to comment any further at this stage.
‘The colleagues involved are being supported appropriately.’
