Builder choked to death after paramedic 'was too scared to treat him'



A builder choked to death as a paramedic stood by - because the injured man's friend was too intimidating, an inquest heard yesterday.

The medic would not enter a restaurant where John Kinder was gasping for air until police arrived, because he thought his dining partner, Frank Honey, was 'aggressive'.

Mr Honey, 65, had pushed away waiters who tried to help when Mr Kinder began choking. Staff said the man had been drinking heavily.

By the time police officers arrived ten minutes later and escorted the paramedic inside, Mr Kinder had suffered fatal brain damage.

Fatal brain damage: Builder John Kinder, 55, had to wait ten minutes before the paramedic would treat him in the Villagio restaurant in Manchester

A coroner yesterday demanded explanations for the paramedic's actions.

Nigel Meadows said at Manchester Coroner's Court: 'I want to know to why they took some time before entering the restaurant.'



Earlier the court had heard 55-year-old Mr Kinder's widow Judith say she found it hard to understand why the medic would not help her husband.

'John didn't deserve to die because the behaviour of another man stopped him being treated,' she said.

Mr Kinder and Mr Honey had both ordered steak and chips, with a bottle of wine, at the Villaggio Restaurant in Manchester.

Minutes after they were served, manager Lauren Littlechild heard a plate and glass smash and saw Mr Kinder fighting for breath.

She said: 'I thought he was having an asthma attack but he got worse and we called an ambulance.

'I spoke to the paramedic and told him a man was struggling to breathe.

'The paramedic said an aggressive man was in the restaurant. I told him the man was about 70 and that there was no threat. But he insisted on waiting for the police.

'I just wanted him to get a bit closer and advise us what to do - but he still insisted on a police presence.'

Miss Littlechild said Mr Honey had made it difficult for staff to get to Mr Kinder.

'It was obvious he had had a lot to drink and was shoving us and waving his arms around,' she said.

Mr Kinder, of Charlesworth, Glossop, Derbyshire, died five days later in Manchester Royal Infirmary from irreversible brain damage caused by oxygen starvation.

Mr Honey said he and Mr Kinder had been 'in a couple of pubs' before going for a meal.

The ambulance service defended the medic's actions, saying: 'Based on information available, usually from the 999 caller, staff can take the decision to stand off from a scene until it is deemed safe.

'These measures are taken in order to protect staff. If they require a police presence, they would request this via control and then wait for their arrival.'