Kettering father died of injuries after forklift truck trapped him against lorry, inquest hears

Shaun Flynn, 36, died in June 2016 after an accident loading a lorry while working for Boss Scaffolding Ltd at a warehouse in Northamptonshire.

At the first day of his inquest yesterday (November 5), a jury heard how Shaun was airlifted to Coventry University Hospital, but died as a result of his injuries six days later.

Shaun's mother Janice told the inquest: "He was a gentle giant. A joker and a hard worker. He was the rock of our family."

Senior coroner Jacqueline Devonish said: "Shaun was at work loading a lorry using a forklift truck. When he completed loading the lorry he got out of the forklift truck to secure the sides of the lorry.

"The truck moved forward, trapping him between the forklift truck and the lorry.

"As a result, he was injured and taken to University Coventry Hospital, where he died of his injuries."

The inquest - which is expected to last three days - will hear evidence on the condition of the forklift truck's brakes at the time of the incident.

The jury heard that Shaun sustained damage to his spine and vertebrae. Although he initially appeared in 'high spirits', he suffered a heart attack while in hospital and was placed in an induced coma. Sadly, he died on June 26, 2016.

Mrs Devonish asked a neurosurgeon who cared for Shaun at Coventry University Hospital: "Were his injuries unsurvivable?"

The surgeon said: "Once we knew the extent of his injuries, the course of events [Shaun's heart attack and death] were sad but not surprising."

The inquest continues.