Brain Contusion/Sudden Cardiopulmonary Arrest Syndrome in

(1914) in no way detracts from or abrogates the enjoyment of the story. Nevertheless, readers may wish to read the story before continuing with this review. A Painful Case includes a (fictional) newspaper report headed DEATH OF A LADY AT SYDNEY PARADE - A PAINFUL CASE, which is about an inquest at the City of Dublin Hospital by the Deputy Coroner into the death of 43-year-old Mrs Emily Sinico on the previous evening. Witnesses testified that at 10 o'clock in the evening, as the slow train was pulling out of Sydney Parade Station, and before bystanders could stop her, Mrs Sinico attempted to cross the railway line, was struck by the buffer of the locomotive, and fell to the ground. Both a police sergeant and Constable 57E testified that Mrs Sinico was dead upon their arrival at the station. Dr Halpin, an assistant house surgeon at the City of Dublin Hospital, testified that Mrs Sinico had two fractured lower ribs, a severe contusion to the right shoulder, and an injury to the right side of her head, but that '… the injuries were not sufficient to have caused death in a normal person. Death, in his opinion, had been probably due to shock and sudden failure of the heart's action.' Mrs Sinico was not known to have had any medical problems. Her daughter mentioned that for two years prior to her death, Mrs Sinico had been in the habit of going out and buying spirits at night. The story reveals that this two-year period commenced with the break-up of an intense but platonic relationship