A court has heard a diver who died while carrying out a routine job hundreds of feet below the surface of the sea looked as if he had been strangled.
Leading north-east forensic pathologist James Grieve yesterday told a fatal accident inquiry that it had been impossible for him to determine exactly what caused Russell Robinson’s death.
But he said that during a post-mortem examination there were signs which suggested the 33-year-old had been asphyxiated.
“If this was not a man who died while diving, I would have been checking that no one had put their hands around his neck and strangled him,” Dr Grieve said.
The pathologist, who has more than 30 years experience, said when he examined Mr Robinson, his face was swollen and blue, with multiple haemorrhages visible in his eyes and on his face.
He said, in his opinion, he was concerned the neck dam worn by Mr Robinson may have been too tight and was a factor which should be given “real consideration”.
Dr Grieve said that if the dam had been compressing against the neck when Mr Robinson had switched on his “free flow” – something he had been instructed to do – then the pressure inside his helmet may have increased, making the dam even tighter as a result.
He said if this had happened it could have in turn led to an effect with the same result as strangulation.
The inquiry heard that Dr Grieve was unable to give a definitive cause of death as other possibilities – such as a heart attack – could not be completely ruled out.
Dr Grieve said what he could determine, absolutely, was that while Mr Robinson was working on the Balmoral floating production vessel in the North Sea he was not suffering from asthma, nor was he diabetic.
These are all conditions which have been explored as a possible contributing factor to his death throughout the inquiry at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
Mr Robinson’s heart and lungs were also in good condition when his body was examined after his death on October 30, 2011, the court heard.
Dr Grieve said a delay in pulling Mr Robinson into the divers’ bell would have reduced the chance of successfully carrying out resuscitation.
The court heard previously that it took 10 minutes from the time Mr Robinson could be heard taking his last breath until his two colleagues managed to hoist him up and remove his helmet.
Dr Grieve said, in his opinion, this would normally be “outwith the window of opportunity” for the successful completion of CPR.
The inquiry, before Sheriff Annella Cowan, continues.
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