06/11/2021
On 25 September 2018, a good friend of mine, Kevin Miles, sadly died at Stoney Cove whilst under my instruction on a rebreather course. His death resulted in a lengthy police and HSE investigation, which culminated in an inquest before Leicester Coroner's Court on 1, 2 and 3 November 2021. It transpired that unbeknown to me at the time of his death, Kevin had been advised never to dive again by Consultant Cardiologist, Dr Wilmshurst, on the basis that he had suffered 2 previous episodes of immersion pulmonary oedema (IPO) whilst diving and had a number of high risk factors that increased his risk of suffering from IPO again, which could prove fatal - Dr Wilmshurst is a world leading authority on IPO and has been part of the UK Diving Medical Committee (UKDMC) since the 1970s. Kevin didn't heed Dr Wilmshurst's advice and obtained a diving medical certificate from a HSE accredited diving doctor. It should be noted that the doctor who signed off Kevin as fit to dive had no knowledge of Dr Wilmshurst's advice. In addition, Kevin was not transparent with the doctor in terms of his medical history. Had she been aware of this, she told the Coroner's Court that she would not have signed him off as fit to dive. In fact, she warned Kevin about the risk of IPO but he made no mention of his 2 previous episodes. The Home Office Pathologist, Dr Hollingbury, concluded that Kevin died of a medical episode. Whilst she found no pathology evidence to suggest he died of IPO, she couldn't rule this. Dr Wilmshurst's evidence was that Kevin died of IPO and he made this diagnosis based on the events during the incident dive. Dr Hollingbury made it clear that since diving puts a huge amount of stress on the body, Kevin would not have died from a medical episode had he not been diving - and we know that he should not have been diving since Dr Wilmshurst told him both in person and in writing never to dive again. The jury at the inquest found that he died of a medical episode, although they couldn't find on the balance of probabilities that he died of IPO. They did however conclude that he died of 'natural causes whilst diving'. Kevin continues to be sorely missed and my thoughts and prayers are with his family. Now the inquest has concluded and I have been exonerated in terms of any wrong doing by both the police and the HSE, I hope that I can move on with my life as best I can. It's been a really tough 3 years and it's taken a toll on my physical and mental well-being. Raymond McKee
