A WOMAN who fell and hit her head while out walking her dog died a day after being discharged from hospital, an inquest heard.

Retired care assistant Carol Potter tripped on the pavement in Bitterne and sustained an “unsurvivable brain injury”, Winchester Coroner’s Court heard.

The court heard the 75-year-old was taken to Southampton General Hospital after the incident and later discharged after a brain scan revealed no abnormalities.

But the next day she was re-admitted after being found semi-conscious and a second scan revealed bleeding on her brain. She died that day.

Dr Sarah Robinson from the hospital said: “A very minor bump in the head can cause large bleeds in older people and people on warfarin.”

When asked by coroner Grahame Short why Ms Potter was not kept in hospital, Dr Robinson replied that Ms Potter was fully conscious and her scan showed no evidence of bleeding.

She added that with head injuries she would look out for symptoms such as severe headache, vomiting and confusion, but Ms Potter, of April Close, Southampton, was not displaying any.

Ms Potter was taking warfarin – which stops blood clotting – at the time of her death.

Her niece, Susan, said: “She was as strong as an ox. She walked her dog about five times a day.

“In hospital we were sat on the bed in the ward and we were just laughing. She went home from hospital. A very good neighbour just couldn’t rouse her the next day.”

Mr Short concluded that Ms Potter suffered an “unsurvivable brain injury” but that there was no sign of the damage at the time of the first brain scan.

He added that the warfarin was a secondary cause of her death and recorded a verdict of accidental death.