A GRAN died after being struck on the back of the head by a rugby ball as she watched her grandson play, an inquest heard.
Jennifer Selwood, 69, suffered a bleed on the brain during the horror at Taunton RFC in Somerset.
She was rushed to hospital but sadly couldn’t be saved and was declared dead almost two weeks later.
An inquest heard Jennifer had diabetes and the blood disorder aplastic anaemia, which would cause bleeding and clotting problems if she suffered an unexpected trauma.
Her husband Colin told the court they were watching their grandson play rugby in January 2020 when the tragedy unfolded.
The couple had moved from the sidelines as they were too slippy and instead stood on a path between two pitches.
Colin said they were stood next to each other when he heard a “thud” as the ball hit Jennifer.
He added: “She was struck. She just made a groan and collapsed to the ground, and I went went down to support her.”
Colin said spectators came over to help as an off-duty medic told him to hold the back of his wife’s head.
He also told the court there were no signs warning them not to stand on the path and he was not aware of any activity on the other pitch behind them.
The inquest also heard from Jennifer’s son Dan, who was a youth coach at the rugby club.
He said: “She was quite dazed, so I went over to her, and she was trying to sit up at that point. I just helped and supported her to do so.
“When I was with mum she started complaining of pain and started rubbing the back of her neck. She started to drift quite quickly.”
Dr Sarah Allford, a consultant haematologist who had been treating Jennifer, said she would have been at “risk of significant bleeding” in the event of a trauma or surgery.
She said the impact of the ball would have caused her “greater” bleeding problems than someone without the condition.
The medic added: “In summary, Jennifer was more likely to suffer a significant bleed caused by the impact because her platelets were lowered due to the aplastic anaemia.
“Any bleeding had the potential to proceed more rapidly and to be more persistent with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality.”
The inquest continues.
