A WOMAN who spent four years in a semi-coma after falling off her bicycle died after suffering a chest infections she caught while in care, an inquest heard.
Herefordshire coroner David Halpern ruled the death of Joyce Hawkes was accidental.
The 61-year-old suffered serious head injuries in the fall on a country lane at Munsley, near Ledbury, in September 2001.
Police accident investigator PC David Sidley said in a statement that evidence found at the scene suggested she lost control of the bike on a downhill bend while trying to keep her hat on.
The inquest heard she had spent her life since in a "low-awareness state" at Ledbury Nursing Home, where she was artificially fed and suffered from several chest infections.
In January, her condition deteriorated and she "died peacefully".
Recording his verdict, Mr Halpern linked the death directly to the accident injuries, with the chest infection as a contributory cause.
"Without the injuries she would not have died," he said.
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