THE shocked family of a middle aged civil servant were relieved yesterday in the Dublin Coroner's Court after a pathologist revised his autopsy findings on the cause of death of the woman in a Dublin flat.
The relatives had expressed astonishment at a pathologist's finding that Ms Margaret Moran (42), a computer operator at the Department of Agriculture in Kildare Street, Dublin, died alone in her flat as a result of cardiac respiratory attack, due to an opioid.
But yesterday, before the Dublin City Coroner, the pathologist in the case, Dr Neill Gallagher, changed his evidence after further blood and urine toxicology tests were carried out after an inquest hearing on January 10th, which was adjourned.
Dr Gallagher said that further detailed tests showed that the opioid detected in the deceased was codeine, which was present at an acceptable therapeutic level.
He now presented the cause of death as acute cardiac failure due to aortic valve disease, possibly caused by the deceased woman having had rheumatic fever earlier in her life.
Ms Aedamar Kirrane, counsel for the Moran family, said that a great amount of distress and upset had been caused as a result of Dr Gallagher's previous autopsy report that an opioid had been discovered in the deceased. They had understood this to include a classified drug of abuse and not a drug freely available to the public, such as codeine.
Dr Brian Farrell, Dublin City Coroner, said that he regretted very much the distress caused to the Moran family.
In future more in depth toxicology analysis reports would besought for both pathologists and the coroner, before the verdict on final cause of death was announced at inquests, he said.
Mr John Moran, the deceased woman's brother, of Tooreen, Co Limerick, told the coroner he hoped the decision to seek more in depth toxicology analysis would ensure that "something good and positive" would have resulted from his sister's death.
Mr Moran added: "If it saves family the same trauma and distress that we have been since Margaret's death, it will have been worth it."
The deceased woman was found at her flat at Whitworth Road, Drumcondra, on April 17th three female friends.
They were concerned that she had not turned up for work the previous day at the Department of Agriculture.