A retired mechanic who burnt his finger with caust

A retired mechanic who burnt his finger with caustic soda while unblocking a sink died after the wound became badly infected, an inquest heard.

Ray Mascoll, 70, had very little feeling in his hand and it took two weeks for him to realise the seriousness of his predicament.

Surgeons amputated his finger, and later his right hand to stop the infection, but his condition deteriorated and he died, Southwark Coroner’s Court heard.

His niece Sharon Mascoll, said he suffered the injury
at his home, (13) Wentworth Crescent in Peckham.

‘My uncle told me the burn was caused by caustic soda poured down the sink to unblock it,’ said Miss Mascoll.

‘He was plunging at it to unblock it and some of it splashed on his finger.

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Mr Mascoll, who was born in Kingston, Jamaica, went to St Thomas’s hospital as an in-patient on October 11 last year.

The finger was amputated but five days later surgeons decided to remove his hand as well and the infection was brought under control.

But Mr Mascoll, who also had trouble swallowing because of a ‘ring’ of tissue blocking his gullet, failed to recover after doctors attempted to correct the problem.

He died on November 26 last year.

Coroner Selena Lynch said: ‘I record a verdict of natural causes contributed to by a chemical burn.

‘
ends