THE inquest into the death of a man who fell over a wall and broke his neck has been put on hold after family members raised concerns over his care.

North Staffordshire coroner Ian Smith will write to ambulance and hospital officials with a series of questions relating to the death of Harold Wheeler.

Mr Smith initially indicated yesterday that he was to record a verdict of accidental death.

But he decided to re-adjourn the inquest after the deceased's family asked why a neck brace had not been applied by paramedics.

They also want to know why the brace was not used in the early stages of the 81-year-old's treatment at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire.

Mr Smith told relatives: "Let's bottom this out and see if someone made a mistake by not taking the appropriate precautions, or if they felt it was something they had to do at the time."

Among the questions the coroner will ask are:

Why paramedics did not put on a collar;

What was done upon Mr Wheeler's admission to A&E;

When the CT scan happened;

When staff became aware of the fracture;

When the neck brace was applied.

The CT scan question came after Mr Wheeler's nephew, John Randles, of Bucknall, said to Mr Smith: "We were told they had scanned for damage to the brain and the chest downwards, so why did they not scan the neck area?"

The court heard the retired mental health service manager had been watching the World Cup at his home in Seabridge Road, Newcastle, on July 2.

Mr Wheeler, who suffered with high blood pressure and vertigo, had gone outside to speak to his wife.

The occasional dizziness and nausea linked to his vertigo usually meant Mr Wheeler needed to have a lie down.

But it appears he had an attack while approaching a low dividing wall to chat with neighbour Lee Thorley.

A statement by Mr Thorley said: "When he was in front of his garage door he stumbled and went forward.

"He put his foot on the wall and then fell, head first, over the wall.

"Strangely, he didn't put his arms forward, which I thought would have been a normal reaction.

"I asked if he was okay, he said 'no', and I noticed a red mark on the bridge of his nose from where it impacted on the bone-hard ground."

After his condition worsened Mr Thorley attempted to resuscitate his neighbour and emergency services were called.

Burslem-born Mr Wheeler spent several days in hospital, but died on July 7.

The cause of death was given as pneumonia due to injury in the cervical cord – the upper part of the spinal cord – from a fall that resulted in the fracture of the C2 vertebrae.

Mr Smith said: "Had he been near his armchair, he would probably have just slipped back in that, but there was no-one there and he just fell where he was."

It is expected to be several weeks before the hospital responds to Mr Smith's letter.