Damp home did not lead to mould-related death, coroner rules

At Rochdale Coroners' Court today (August 9), the inquest into the death of Luke Brooks, who died at his home on Huxley Street in Oldham last year, concluded.

Area coroner for Manchester North, Joanne Kearsley, concluded that while works at the property were needed, the issues present did not play a part in Mr Brooks' death.

Ms Kearsley said: "Whilst the property within which Luke resided was in need of some repairs, neither the disrepairs nor any damp caused or contributed to Luke's death.

She accepted the 27-year-old's cause of death as acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by aspergillus-related bronchopneumonia, which was provided by pathologist Dr Abdul Ganjifrockwala.

A picture of mould on the ceiling of Mr Brooks' bedroom (Image: Brooks family via Kelly Darlington)

Aspergillus is a type of mould which is said to usually grow on vegetation or dust particles.

However, Ms Kearsley said it was "not possible to determine the source of the aspergillus".

She said there was a "distinct possibility" that Mr Brooks had another underlying infection such as influenza even though this could not be proven even on the balance of probabilities.

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Throughout the inquest, the court heard that in the days before his death, Mr Brooks displayed symptoms including a sore throat, chest pains, vomiting and a rash.

On October 22 and 23 last year, Mr Brooks' mother, Patricia, called 111 saying her son was unwell, however, she and Mr Brooks were told an ambulance would take hours to come.

Mr Brooks was advised against attending A&E as patients with chest pains were not recommended to go to A&E by themselves, which was part of a local policy.

Mr Brooks died on October 25 when he had what was described as a "seizure" in his bedroom and was declared dead at the scene.

Dr Ganjifrockwala, who carried out the post-mortem examination on Mr Brooks, said on Tuesday (August 8) that he believed mould in Mr Brooks' lungs played a role in his death.

Dr Ganjifrockwala gave the cause of death as acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by aspergillus-related bronchopneumonia.

He said he believed, on the balance of probabilities, the mould caused the pneumonia.

Mould on the ceiling taken by PC Adam Rogers when he attended Mr Brooks' death (Image: GMP via Rochdale Coroners' Court)

Despite this, Professor Malcolm Richardson, an expert in mycology, said it was "hard to believe" aspergillus would have been growing in the house at the time of Mr Brooks' death.

When he visited the property on Huxley Street in April this year, six months after Mr Brooks' death, said most of the mould he found was penicillium, which is not a pathogen, although it can cause allergic reactions.

During day three of the inquest yesterday (August 9), Joanne Collier, an assistant Environmental Health manager at Oldham Council, accepted there had been "missed opportunities" to address mould concerns over the span of a few years before Mr Brooks' death.

Ms Collier also said that when an inspection took place in November 2021, less than a year before Mr Brooks' death, there was "nothing of major concern" found at the property.

The court heard evidence from Ms Brooks on the opening day of the inquest, when she told the court she had raised concerns over mould, damp and leaks at the property over a number of years.

Ms Kearsley is the same coroner who ruled last year that two-year-old Awaab Ishak died in Rochdale from a respiratory condition caused by mould at his home.

The coroner told Mr Brooks’ family, who were present in court: “I do appreciate you had some genuine concerns about the property and my findings do not take away from that things did need to be done to the house.

“What I have had to separate is whether they did or did not play a part in Luke’s death.”

She said the family was “quite right to raise these concerns – I absolutely understand that”.

“I hope you understand why I have reached the conclusions I have come to,” she said.

Ms Kearsley said Mr Brooks’ reaction to aspergillus pneumonia was “extreme” given his age and with no history of any serious medical problems.

After the ruling, the 27-year-old's sister, Sarah, read out the following statement outside the court on behalf of the family, which said: "Our Luke was really something special.

"He had so many talents like drawing, cooking, singing, and playing the piano.

"He didn’t always realise how amazing he was, but he was also really smart. We loved him a lot.

"But the place we lived in wasn’t good to live in. It didn’t feel like a real home, no matter how hard we tried. For three years, there was no proper heating, and it was so cold that you could see your breath when you talked.

"Even though the coroner didn’t find direct proof that the house caused Luke’s death, we want to talk about the problems we faced."

She added: "We tried to tell people about our issues, by they didn’t listen. When we spoke to Environmental Health, we felt ignored."

She said that "things need to change" and tenants must be able to feel more confident speaking out on poor conditions and landlords be held to account.

"We might never fully get over this, but we hope that because of the interest people have shown in this inquest, and the changes that will come from it, other lives might be saved.

"Thank you."