Warburtons worker died at home after arm crush injury

A bakery worker was found dead at home four days after being treated for an arm injury sustained at work, an inquest has heard.

Wayne Thorpe, from Langley Mill, Derbyshire, had his arm crushed in machinery at a Warburtons plant in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire,

The 44-year-old then had a skin graft procedure at Nottingham City Hospital.

But Mr Thorpe, who was "profoundly deaf", was found dead after getting his wound redressed.

His family has raised concerns about the care he received.

A jury at Derby Coroners' Court heard Mr Thorpe, who had worked as a product packer and distribution operative at the bakery, got his arm trapped in machinery while supervising dough as it fell into tins in August 2015.

He went to Ilkeston Community Hospital but was transferred to Nottingham City Hospital on 4 August. He was given a skin graft operation three days later.

In a statement read by Derbyshire area coroner, Peter Nieto, Mr Thorpe's step-father John Beaver said he took him back to the hospital for a check-up on 12 August.

He said Mr Thorpe "looked unwell" at hospital and was "sweating profusely".

When Mr Thorpe was discharged, Mr Beaver said he was "staggering" and "walking slowly" back to the car.

"The wound did not look like it had healed at all - Wayne appeared very unwell at this appointment," Mr Beaver said.

"Should the hospital have kept him there and undertaken further investigations?"

Mr Thorpe was found dead at his home in Langley Mill on 16 August.

The jury was told the sofa where Mr Thorpe was found was "covered in blood" from the wound on his arm.

Mollie Beaver, Mr Thorpe's mother in a statement provided in 2018, said she was "devastated" by the loss of her "kind, warm and caring" son and there were "a lot of questions that remain unanswered".

His brother, Robert Thorpe, who was sat in court, said in a statement: "I'm extremely saddened by the loss of my brother who did not deserve to die in the way he did.

"I now know the accident should not have been allowed to happen.

"I also feel Wayne was also let down by the hospital trust who should've ensured that Wayne's wound was dealt with properly."

The court heard from Chris Palmer, Warburtons general manager at the time of the Mr Thorpe's injury.

The jury was told the machine involved was subsequently dismantled. The company previously accepted liability for the injury and received a seven-figure fine in 2017.

Mr Palmer, in a statement read to the court, added the Health and Safety Executive had since visited the site and was "satisfied" with the safety measures in place.

Warburtons itself said it was "shocked and deeply saddened" by Mr Thorpe's death.

The court also heard from Alexandra Murray, a consultant plastic reconstruction surgeon at Nottingham City Hospital at the time of Mr Thorpe's admission.

She said when he was seen on 12 August, his skin was "95% healed".

"The patient was well in himself and there was no signs of bleeding or infection," she said in a statement.

The inquest, which is expected to last three days, continues.

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