Coroner's Finding: Adamson, Darryl

49y · Male·traumatic amputation of right lower leg due to being trapped under a moving tractor wheel

Darryl Arthur Adamson, a 49-year-old man with a history of seizures (within 3 days of death), severe ischaemic heart disease (70% LAD narrowing), and recent hepatitis C diagnosis, died from traumatic amputation of his right lower leg after becoming trapped under a moving tractor wheel. He was operating an approximately 50-year-old Massey Ferguson tractor without modern safety features, was barefoot (complicating brake operation), and had alcohol and THC in his system. The coroner could not definitively establish how he came to be under the wheel—possibilities included a seizure, cardiac event, or dislodgement by low-hanging tree branches. The coroner recommended retrofitting older tractors with cut-off switches (engine kill devices activated by weight release from the seat) to prevent similar incidents.