The Dublin City Coroner is to seek legal advice from the Attorney General after he was precluded by a legal ruling, for the second time in a week, from hearing what he believed to be important medical evidence in an inquest.
The inquest into the death of Mr James (Jimmy) Hamilton (39), Belmont Park, Raheny, Dublin, was adjourned when Dr Brian Farrell said he could not make a finding without seeking legal advice on his interpretation of the law.
The Supreme Court ruled last month that, under Section 26 of the Coroners Act 1962, a coroner may take evidence from no more than two medical witnesses. A working group on the coroner services last year recommended, amongst other things, this section of the act be abolished.
Mr Hamilton, a former Irish Times employee, died on April 16th. Dr Francesca Brett, the pathologist who carried out the post-mortem examination, found he had died from a form of CJD, probably caused by a contaminated batch of human growth hormone he received in his teens.
The hormone he received from 1979 to 1982 was extracted from the pituitary glands of human bodies. This type of growth hormone was discontinued in mid-1985 over CJD fears, the inquest heard.