Honeymooning barrister who died on Christmas Day in a jet ski accident had only been given ‘basic instructions’ how to use it, inquest hears

A lawyer has died Christmas Day in a freak jet ski accident on her honeymoon, an inquest heard.

Michaela Danso, 46, flew off the equipment on the third day of her trip to… Dubai while her husband Joseph looked on in horror.

Walthamstow Coroner’s Court heard today that the couple were only given ‘basic instructions’ on how to operate the high-powered jet skis – despite knowing neither had used one before.

After the instructor disembarked, Michaela pressed the accelerator and charged towards the sea wall.

The jet ski hit the wall, ‘catapulting’ Michaela onto the concrete ground in front of her.

An autopsy revealed that Michaela’s cause of death was head injury caused by blunt force trauma.

Michaela Danso (pictured), 46, flew off the equipment on the third day of her trip to Dubai as her husband Joseph looked on in horror

Mr Danso told the inquest: ‘Michaela was a vibrant person who lived life to the fullest. She was a wonderful person and loved by many members of the community. She loved music and would dance to it, even if it came from a passing car.”

He also said the company, called Aquablue, told them they were too big to fit on one jet ski – which he now thinks was a ploy to get them to rent two.

Mr Danso said: ‘It was never her intention to drive a jet ski alone. She had only reserved one for me and wanted to sit behind me. She would be here if she says so [we wouldn’t fit on one] wasn’t made.’

He also told the inquest they were only wearing life jackets and not helmets, adding: ‘I think if she had done that she would still be there.’

Joseph also told the inquest it took an hour for an ambulance to reach the port – during which time Michaela had died.

After the inquest, Mr Danso said he had heard from police in Dubai that the jet ski operator’s boss had been arrested.

He said: ‘I was told that if I said I forgave him he would be released. I didn’t answer. I never want to hear from that country again.’

Curiously, Danso also claims that after witnessing his wife’s death, officers threw him into a police van to take him to the station to give his statement.

He said: ‘I was crying, screaming. I couldn’t believe what I had seen. I was traumatized and the officers kept telling me to keep quiet.”

An autopsy revealed that Michaela’s cause of death was head injury caused by blunt force trauma

Michaela, from Holloway, North London, was a barrister at Charterhouse Chambers in Chancery Lane, and practiced criminal law before moving into family law.

Senior coroner Graeme Irvine said: ‘Mrs Danso was on holiday to Dubai in December 2022 and on Christmas Day she and her husband had arranged to hire a jet ski.

On arrival at the jet ski operator it was explained to Mr and Mrs Danso that they were not allowed to share any jet ski and therefore it was a surprise and a change to Michaela’s intended plan that they had to rent a second jet ski. ski.

“The evidence I heard from Mr. Danso was that Michaela had no intention of driving a jet ski; the plan was for her husband to pilot the jet ski and for her to act as a passenger on this joy ride.”

Mr Irvine described the jet ski as a ‘powerful piece of maritime equipment’.

He said their briefing on how to use the jet skis was “very short and perfunctory” and that the only safety equipment they were given was a “buoyancy vest”.

He said: ‘When she started the jet ski she lost control of it and accelerated very quickly and uncontrollably. Her very short but rapid journey came to a sudden stop when she struck the sea wall and was catapulted onto the hard surface in front of her, sustaining fatal injuries to the base of her skull.

“Fortunately, Ms. Danso’s injuries had rendered her unconscious and unconscious from the start.”

He said if the death had occurred in Britain he would write to the jet ski rental company about their safety procedures and equipment, and to the local authority.

But he told the court: ‘Unfortunately I cannot do that as it is outside the jurisdiction of this court. I make it abundantly clear that if that wasn’t the case, I would.”

The court heard that Irvine contacted the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office to request information from Dubai, but after months of waiting no information was transferred.

Michaela’s family agreed to proceed with the inquest regardless.

The coroner recorded a conclusion of “accidental death due to injuries sustained in an accidental jet ski collision.”