A Darlington man who fell down the stairs was left lying on the floor overnight when his emergency buzzer failed to connect to get him help.
Leonard Connell fell at home shortly after midnight on January 2.
The 86-year-old activated his pendant, which was meant to connect him to a call handler, but technical problems meant it didn't connect.
The 86-year-old was found at about 5am the next morning after suffering a “long lie".
He died at Darlington Memorial Hospital on January 11 having suffered fractures to his spine, neck and ribs, and being ruled as not fit for surgery.
An inquest heard Darlington Council's Lifeline service was aware of a fault with his equipment from a previous incident on October 28, 2025, but failed to act upon it.
He has now warned future deaths could occur, warning that similar failures could put other Lifeline users’ lives at risk.
Writing in a prevention of future deaths report Dr Hamilton said: "I have concerns that other clients may experience problems with connection to the service (as the problem could not be explained in his case) and so suffer a “long lie” [...] which may contribute to their death.
"There had been a previous incident on October 28, 2025, where Lifeline were aware of a fault with his equipment but failed to act upon it – this was a ‘missed opportunity’."
The coroner said the “long lie” Leonard suffered did not contribute to Leonard’s death.
The pendant should send an emergency signal to the council’s control room so a warden can respond quickly.
The man died in Darlington Memorial Hospital following a fall down the stairs at his home. (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)
A Darlington Borough Council spokesperson said: “We believe the matter is being looked into by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) and so it would be inappropriate for us to comment at this time.
"We will fully co-operate with any investigation they carry out"
The Northern Echo contacted the LGSCO, they were unable to confirm any details about the investigation, given that it was still ongoing.
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The coroner concluded his death was an accident.
The Prevention of Future Deaths report was sent to Darlington Borough Council’s Lifeline Service and Mr Connell’s family.
The coroner said action was needed because failing to address the concerns posed a significant risk of future deaths.