Family handoutA coroner has criticised the conduct of a carer who argued with an autistic man hours before he fell to his death from a hotel balcony in Tenerife.
Jamie Cole, 25, from Weston-super-Mare, was accompanied on holiday by carer Lousha Rees who worked for private care company Lifestyle, also known as Accomplish.
Mr Cole, who had a history of suicidal ideation, left Ms Rees after the pair argued over the cost of a restaurant bill on 14 January 2023. He was found dead several hours later, an inquest at Avon Coroner’s Court was told.
Coroner Dr Peter Harrowing said Ms Rees had behaved “inappropriately” prior to Mr Cole’s death but he said he did not believe her actions amounted to gross misconduct.
The court heard Mr Cole and Ms Rees had met to go for dinner at a restaurant where he became upset because Ms Rees wanted the “most expensive meal” on the menu which he said he was not prepared to pay for.
Mr Cole left the restaurant before Ms Rees texted him saying she was unwilling to support him when he was “acting like a 12-year-old” and describing him as having been “totally inappropriate”.
Ms Rees told the inquest in a written statement that Mr Cole had been addressing her as his girlfriend at the restaurant which had made her uncomfortable.
The court heard Ms Rees had knocked on Mr Cole’s hotel room door later that evening and he had told her he was “fine”.
‘Stop being silly’
Following his death, Mr Cole’s mother Martine was told about the final message he sent to Laura Warrant, a manager from the care company.
He said: “I’m going to jump now.
“You can tell everyone I love them, especially my mum.”
The inquest heard Ms Warrant had responded by telling him to “stop being silly” and advising he “get some rest”.
Mr Cole was found dead that evening, having suffered multiple injuries consistent with a fall from the fifth-floor balcony.
Dr Harrowing said: “He was an extremely anxious young man and would need a lot of reassurance throughout his daily life.”
He added: “I find also the response of Laura Warrant in her contact with Jamie probably served to aggravate the situation.”
However, the coroner said he did not believe there had been “gross failures”.
The court heard Lifestyle had since implemented an improvement plan and Dr Harrowing said he was “satisfied” the company had “addressed the issues raised in this matter”.
