A Liverpool man with a history of substance abuse and depression was found dead by his mum in bed.
Sean Leigh Ryan was found dead by his mother when she returned home from shopping on April 7 this year.
The 47-year-old had moved in with his mum in Inglewhite, Skelmersdale following the end of a relationship with his his long-term girlfriend in 2019, reports Lancs Live.
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Yesterday ( Monday) Preston Coroners court heard that Mr Ryan had “potentially fatal levels” of painkillers in his system at the time of his death, although Area Coroner Richard Taylor did not believe he intended to take his own life.
The inquest heard that her son, originally from Liverpool, had previously attempted to take his own life in 2019.
Mr Taylor, reading a statement from Mr Ryan's mother Susan, said: “He suffered from chronic back pain and he took [painkillers] long-term to manage that.
“She says the tramadol dulled the pain. She said Sean had appeared more relaxed recently and more sociable.
“The day before he died he spent almost the entire day with her and was looking forward to the future.
“He had taken an intentional overdose in 2019 following a split from his long-term girlfriend but on April 6 he was in good spirits.”
The inquest heard Mr Ryan’s mother found him dead in his bedroom at around 6pm on April 7 after she came home from shopping. An empty packet of painkillers was found in a bag at the side of his bed.
Police attended the scene but found there was no evidence of third-party involvement or suspicious circumstances.
Mr Ryan was receiving support from substance misuse organisation Inspire for cocaine use and his last review was carried out the month before he died.
A report submitted to the inquest revealed that he “regularly had thoughts of suicide but he described these as fleeting and he had no plans to harm himself”.
The coroner concluded the medical cause of death was tramadol toxicity but he was unable to give a conclusion of suicide as there was “insufficient evidence” Mr Ryan had intended to end his life.
Giving a narrative conclusion the coroner added: "This is a young man who is in constant pain due to his back and he was prescribed tramadol and has taken an overdose which has ended his life.
"I have no evidence of any intent to end his life. Whilst I have evidence of previous depressive spells his mother said that wasn’t evident the day before his death and he was positive about matters.
“I have to balance that against the fact he is in constant pain and uses a lot of painkilling medication.
“I don’t, in my view, have sufficient evidence to say that he has intentionally ended his life.”
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