A popular welder died just a few days before Christmas after binge drinking a mixture of four different spirits and lager at a family party.
Over four hours Damian ‘Damo’ Hennefer, 35, drank 11 cans of beer and then downed a pint glass filled with double shots of spiced and dark rum, Tia Maria and vodka – the equivalent to half a bottle of spirits.
After appearing drunk and sleepy, the stepfather-of-three was taken back to his home in Leigh, Wigan, Greater Manchester by his concerned wife and friend.
He began to vomit and turned ‘blue in colour’ before the emergency services were called.
Damian ‘Damo’ Hennefer, 35, pictured with wife Karen, he died just on December 22
Mr Hennefer died in hospital five days later on December 22, with blood tests showing that he was the equivalent of over six times the drink driving limit.
He was a victim of alcohol related death after vomit entered his airways and stopped oxygen from reaching his vital organs, a coroner ruled.
The Bolton hearing was told how he worked hard as a fabricator and welder at his own mechanics garage in Deane, Bolton and had a passion for cars from a young age.
He was described as an ‘active and healthy man’ who would only drink socially with friends at the weekend. But tragedy struck on Saturday 16 December last year when Mr Hennefer spent the evening drinking in a ‘man cave’ with his brother-in-law and a friend.
His wife of two years Karen said that her husband had been drinking cans of Stella from around 5.15pm that day, and consumed around 11 cans in total during the time spent at her brother Anthony Huyton’s house.
She stayed indoors with her sister-in-law and their children while Mr Hennefer had a drink in the outdoor bar and games room.
She did not become worried about her husband’s state until 1.30 the following morning.
In a statement Mrs Hennefer said: ‘It was my nephews first birthday on that day. I went to my brothers to see him and Damian stayed at home with a friend Paul.
‘When I got back home about an hour and a half later, my brother Anthony had invited us all back for drinks. Paul drove us to Anthony’s and Paul and Damian went to his house to grab some stuff, so did not arrive until about 9.15pm.
‘At my brother’s house, there is a man cave in the garden separate from the house. It has games, a television and a bar in it.

Mr Hennefer (pictured with wife Karen) was described as an ‘active and healthy man’ who would only drink socially with friends at the weekend
‘The men went in there while I stayed in the living room with my sister-in-law. I went in there about three times during the evening.
‘The last time I was in there was at about 1.30am, Damian did not look himself. At about 10.30pm when I went in he looked fine, I went in about 11pm and he looked fine.
‘I saw him through the window of the living room and he did not look right. I could see him propped up on a stool in the corner. He looked really, really drunk to be honest. I called him an idiot, I had not been drinking. His eyes were blood shot red.
‘He could not speak, and his arms were floppy. His legs could not stand up, he had lost control. We carried him to the car, he had been sick in the car and outside Anthony’s house.
‘We carried him in and put him on the rug with a pillow at the back of him so he could not go onto his back. He had been sick, so I changed his clothes.

Mr Hennefer (pictured with wife Karen) was a victim of alcohol related death after vomit entered his airways and stopped oxygen from reaching his vital organs, a coroner ruled
‘At around 2.45am that’s when I noticed he had turned blue. I screamed for Paul, he was making grunting noises then he went a white colour. I made the ambulance call at around 3.05am. It felt like it took a long time for the ambulance to arrive.
‘I followed instructions from the ambulance service and started giving compressions, when paramedics arrived they were attempting to resuscitate him.. They just said he was a very poorly man.’
Mrs Hennefer became aware of a video on her brother’s phone that showed him pouring eight shots of spirit into a glass, before going to add Coke to the glass.
Before he had the chance, Damian had downed the contents.
Mr Huyton said: ‘David would usually stick to drinking Stella. He would have the odd glass of rum and Coke but only has the one.
‘We decided to fill a tankard glass full of alcohol from each optic. It was just boys being boys. It was my intention to put Coke in it, I poured one for myself then one for him.

Mr Hennefer (pictured with wife Karen) was drinking with his brother-in-law on the night he became ill
‘I went to get some Coke and when I turned around Damian was drinking it. Me and Paul said not to do it. He had never drank that amount with me before.’
Mr Hennefer was transported to the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary where he was taken to the resuscitation room and then spent several days in the intensive care unit.
The inquest was adjourned on Thursday 12 April when the family came with 37 questions aimed at paramedics and hospital staff who were involved with Mr Hennefer’s care.
At the first hearing, Dr David Barker, a consultant pathologist for St Helens And Knowsley NHS Foundation Trust who carried out the post-mortem examination, gave the medical cause of death as bronchopneumonia, due to hypoxic brain injury, due to aspiration – material entering the throat – related to alcohol intoxication.
Mr Hennefer’s family also questioned why toxicology tests were not carried out but were told that because he died several days after he arrived at the hospital, whatever was in his blood or urine at the time of admission would have gone.
A blood test taken when he was admitted to hospital recorded a reading of 467 micrograms per litre of blood. A reading above 350 can lead to alcohol toxicity and between 400 and 450 is when deaths can arise.

A blood test taken when he was admitted to hospital recorded a reading of 467 micrograms per litre of blood. A reading above 350 can lead to alcohol toxicity and between 400 and 450 is when deaths can arise. Pictured: Damien and wife Karen
The inquest heard from a number of medical professionals including paramedics and clinicians in order to answer the family’s questions. Mr Jamie Scorah, a paramedic for North West Ambulance Service, was first at the scene after receiving an alert.
He said: ‘I arrived on the scene at 3.18am. I was greeted by Mrs Hennefer who gave me a full picture of what had happened. Damian was laid on the living room floor and was being given CPR.
‘He was not breathing and was showing no signs of life at that stage. I was told about the alcohol he had had over the night. We assessed his airways but there was some restriction due to vomit. I requested assistance from a senior paramedic and from another ambulance.
‘Myself and my colleague were carrying out advanced life support. I cannot remember from memory whether I asked him to get the suction machine, but I know it was used.
‘Damian was given adrenaline and fluid and a senior paramedic arrived. He regained a heartbeat at 3.33am. We moved him to the ambulance and assessed his airways, breathing and circulation. He was put on a ventilator.

The inquest heard from a number of medical professionals including paramedics and clinicians in order to answer the family’s questions (Mr Hennefer and his wife)
‘No observations were recorded when he was being stabilised in the ambulance. We arrived at the hospital at 4.02am and I told the emergency team that he had consumed a large amount of alcohol and was in cardiac arrest.’
The court heard how the family were unsure as to whether a suction machine was used as this was not documented in any professional notes. They were also concerned that the paramedics did not arrive within the seven-minute target time that is set by protocol for high alert calls.
But Mr Daniel Smith, the consultant paramedic for Greater Manchester, described the work of paramedics as ‘commendable’ and said that by the time they arrived Mr Hennefer had suffered cardiac arrest.
He said: ‘We aim to get there within seven minutes and I appreciate we did not on that evening.
‘It was a busy time of year, it was a weekend night. I can only apologise that we were not able to get there as quick as you would like and as quick as we would like.

Mr Hennefer’s family also questioned why toxicology tests were not carried out but were told that because he died several days after he arrived at the hospital
‘On the scene, cardiac arrest survival rates are at 10%. It is difficult to even regain a pulse. It’s commendable that the paramedic pressed the button for help so early.’
Clinicians who looked after Mr Hennefer in intensive care informed his family that his support machines should be switched off just three days before Christmas because of the irreversible damage caused to his brain.
Recording a conclusion of an alcohol related death, coroner Alan Walsh praised the efforts of Mr Hennefer’s family when he fell ill.
He said: ‘Karen did everything she could at that stage. She phoned the ambulance and she and Paul did everything they could. Without Karen and Paul doing what they did he may not have stood a chance of regaining circulation.

Recording a conclusion of an alcohol related death, coroner Alan Walsh praised the efforts of Mr Hennefer’s family (pictured) when he fell ill
‘The ambulance arrived in 13 minutes which I accept is longer than the target time but we have to accept that there are busy times. It should have been noted as to when the suction machine as used and how it was used.
‘His death arose from alcohol intoxication from the very high level of alcohol in his body. It may be that he did not have the tolerance to that because even though he drank at weekends he did not drink spirits or to that excess. It is the quantity of alcohol that lead to his death.
‘It is devastating that he should have died at that age, having gone to a family celebration that day. It is a lesson that people can learn not to consume large amounts of alcohol that they are not used to drinking.’
His wife said in a local newspaper tribute: ‘We have been together again since March 2013. It was lovely because he was my first love and I was his. Damian was fun, loving and a very caring and thoughtful person.
‘He would always put himself last. He would always put somebody else’s feelings before his own. He was an outgoing person, but when we got together, he was mainly a family man.’
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