Homeless man, 54, died as a result of hypothermia, inquest hears
A 54 year old homeless man found slumped on steps in Dublin city centre died due to hypothermia.
The Lithuanian man was lying in a sleeping bag on steps to a house on Lower Gardiner Street in Dublin shortly after 7am on January 19 2018.
The morning was described by Garda Hannah Quinlan as ‘particularly cold’.
The man, who was wearing multiple coats, was checked by a woman passing on her way to work who became concerned. The woman felt he was extremely cold and feared he was dead. She contacted emergency services.
He was rushed by ambulance to the Mater Hospital where his temperature was found to be 20 degrees on arrival. He was extremely hypothermic, Dublin Coroner’s Court heard.
He suffered a cardiac arrest in hospital. He was treated in the hospital’s intensive care unit but died two days later on January 21 2018.
“He deteriorated quite a lot in that time between when he was found in the street and getting to hospital,” Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane said.
Gardai contacted the Lithuanian Embassy in a bid to contact relatives but none travelled to Ireland to identify the remains.
Mr Steponas Jankovskis was identified by a photograph provided to Gardai by email from his son.
“His son emailed and said this was his father and this was the most recent photo available,” Garda David Biggins said.
An autopsy found he died due to a lack of blood supply to the heart due to hypothermia with a core temperature of 20 degrees on a background of bronchial pneumonia. The man had the equivalent of eight alcoholic drinks in his system an arrival at the Mater Hospital.
The coroner returned a verdict of misadventure.
“The main reason he died was due to hypothermia, he had a very low temperature detected when he was admitted to hospital,” the coroner said.
