Fehim Ahmet

I am:   Coroner ME Hassell Senior Coroner Inner North London St Pancras Coroner’s Court Camley Street London  N1C 4PP

On  29  July  2024,  one  of  my  assistant  coroners,  Melanie  Lee, commenced an investigation into the death of Fehim Ahmet aged 81 years. The investigation concluded at the end of the inquest on 19 November 2024.  I do apologise for the lateness of this report. The medical cause of death was: 1a  traumatic brain injury 2   traumatic cervical spine injury, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with cor pulmonale

Whilst sitting in a social club/café a little after 7.30pm on 7 July 2024, Mr Ahmet was hit by a man falling through the skylight above.  He died a fortnight later from the injuries sustained. The man had gone out onto the flat roof of the café via a window from the flat above and had sat on a plastic skylight, which had then given way.  The man was in the property having gone round to the flat to see friends who were brand new tenants. They had rented the property from Network Agencies.

During the course of the inquest, the evidence revealed matters giving rise to concern. In my opinion, there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken. In the circumstances, it is my statutory duty to report to you. The MATTERS OF CONCERN are as follows.

1. I  heard  at  inquest  that,  as  industry  standard,  there  is  no requirement or even guidance regarding action to be taken by estate agents about particular property hazards, say noting on the property  file  to  warn  tenants  about  a  flat  roof  that  is  easily accessible via a window but is not in fact safe to access.  Such information is not automatically passed on when tenants change and is not necessarily enshrined in the tenancy agreement.
2. In this instance the café owner downstairs had rung the estate agent to complain about tenants from the upstairs flat being on the roof of the café and it was reported that there were emails about this, but nobody from the estate agency had made a note or followed up with the tenants.

In my opinion, action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe that you have the power to take such action.