A jury today unanimously acquitted three lifeguards of breaching their duty of care to an accomplished Armagh swimmer who tragically suffered a hypoxic blackout and drowned.
Having heard three weeks of evidence the Newry Crown Court jury of three men and eight women deliberated for an hour and 40 minutes before returning with their unanimous not guilty verdicts.
Standing side by side in the dock Cathal McVeigh, William Holden and James Monaghan showed little emotion as their names were exonerated by the jury but as Judge Paul Ramsey KC thanked the jury for their service, Holden was seen to wipe away tears of undoubted relief.
Judge Ramsey told the jury he wanted to add his voice to those of the barristers involved in the case, highlighting that “we are very, very impressed by the commitment and care” they have shown in a trial which was a “difficult and troubling and emotional case.”
After it was confirmed there was nothing further against the three defendants, the judge told them “you may leave the dock.”
The three men Cathal McVeigh (35), from Dunamony Road in Dungannon; William Holden (26), from Unshinagh Lane in Portadown and James Monaghan (26), from Folly Lane in Armagh had each faced a charge that being employee, they were in breach their duty to others on 7 April 2017 in that they “failed to take reasonable care for the health and safety of other persons who may be affected by your acts or omissions at work.”
As Judge Ramsey highlighted during his summing up of the case earlier today “the person at the very heart of this case” was Christopher Rogers, a 20-year-old whose sad passing had been a “shattering experience for everyone involved” and especially for his family.
Over the course of the last three weeks the jury heard how Mr Rogers, a strong and accomplished swimmer, had completed two lengths of the pool at Orchard Leisure Centre fully submerged and was half way through a third length when he broke the surface and then sank to the bottom of the pool where he remained for just over five minutes until he was pulled, unconscious from the water.
Unbeknownst to the defendants who were on duty at the time, the 20-year-old had tragically suffered a hypoxic black out and while they were “focusing intently” on him, they all believed he was following his normal training regime.
The jury heard it was a regular occurrence for Mr Rogers to swim under water and to hold his breath for a prolonged period while submerged.
Each of the defendants told the police and all three gave evidence to the jury that they had “no concerns whatsoever” that anything was wrong.
The jury heard that whole Mr Rogers was submerged for just over five minutes another swimmer in the pool had “nudged” him with his foot, believing that the 20-year-old had given him a “thumbs up” sign.
Tragically, that “thumbs up” signal was actually Mr Rogers’ body experiencing decerebrate and decorticate posturing where his limbs moved involuntarily during a seizure brought on by his brain being starved of oxygen.
It had been the Crown case that each of the defendants breached their duty of taking reasonable care by waiting too long to initiate a rescue, that the prolonged changeover of pool duties distracted them and that they “missed the signs” that Mr Rogers was in danger.
The jury also heard however that each of the defendants had been aware of the submerged Mr Rogers and had been watching him.
It also emerged that during their training and induction, the lifeguards had received no guidance about hypoxic blackouts or the signs to look for or about the dangers of prolonged breath holding and extensive underwater swimming.
In the weeks and months after Mr Rogers’ tragic death, there were changes made to rules and regulations in swimming pools across the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon District Council area and also that addition were made to the Royal Life Saving Society manual for pool lifeguards.
By their verdicts the jury have clearly accepted that rather than the defendants being at fault, there were faults and holes in the health and safety risk assessments and training given to lifeguards at that time.
