Coroner Urges Hackney Council Action After Fatal Balcony Fall

An assistant coroner has called upon Hackney Council to implement measures aimed at preventing further fatalities, subsequent to the death of a woman who fell from her balcony while attempting to clear a clogged drainpipe. Sarah McGreevy sustained a fall from the balcony of her sixth-floor residence in Hackney, located in east London, on June 16, approximately at 09:40 BST. The 37-year-old individual sustained injuries that proved fatal, and an inquest, which concluded on Wednesday, established the medical cause of death as multiple injuries, trauma, and a fall from height. The council extended its condolences to Ms McGreevy’s family and stated its intention to review the coroner’s report, pledging to respond as “quickly as possible”. Sarah Bourke, the assistant coroner for inner north London, raised concerns that a comparable incident might transpire if preventative measures are not implemented, as detailed in a preventing future deaths report dispatched to Hackney Council, which holds the freehold of the property. The report indicates that police officers arrived at the location following Ms McGreevy’s fall, where they discovered a wooden box on the balcony and her mobile phone positioned on a window ledge adjacent to the balcony, near a drainpipe. The aforementioned pipe had previously undergone repairs using “heavy duty tape”. As per the report, law enforcement officials were informed that residents residing on the fifth and sixth floors of the building would climb onto their balconies to manually clear blocked pipes, particularly following heavy rainfall. Images captured of Ms McGreevy’s hands revealed dirt around her fingernails, described as “consistent with undertaking a cleaning task”. Ms Bourke stated, “I found that it was more likely than not that Ms McGreevy had climbed onto the wooden box to clear the pipe and had accidentally fallen over the balcony.” She further added, “During the course of the inquest, the evidence revealed matters giving rise to concern.” “In my opinion, there is a risk that future deaths could occur unless action is taken,” she concluded. Ms Bourke drew attention to concerns stemming from reports by several residents regarding individuals climbing onto their balconies to clear obstructed pipes, and the leaseholder’s assertion that he was unaware of any maintenance work performed on the guttering or drainpipes subsequent to Ms McGreevy’s death. “In the absence of remedial works, the practice of residents unblocking pipes themselves is likely to continue,” Ms Bourke commented. She affirmed that the council ought to undertake actions to “prevent future deaths”. Hackney Council is required to submit its response to the report by January 1. A spokesperson for the council remarked, “This is a tragic case and our thoughts are with the friends and family of Sarah McGreevy.” The spokesperson added, “We do not expect anyone living in a Hackney Council home to clean their own guttering and, like the coroner, we want to ensure an incident like this doesn’t happen again.”