• "Martin was excellent and clear in his advice, always keeping me informed. He was a pleasure to deal with."
  • "I have never needed to use solicitors before but I was very impressed with the polite and professional service I have received."
  • "Can I just take this opportunity to say how impressed I have been with Ms Nicholls' professionalism and her pleasant, helpful manner."
  • "Melanie explained things very clearly so I could understand the law/jargon well!"
  • "Very pleased with Alicia Dowling's performance throughout. Her proportionate and professional advice was greatly appreciated."
  • "You provided an excellent service. Stephen Trump was excellent."
  • "The claim has now been settled to our entire satisfaction and I cannot speak highly enough about Kerry and your firm"
  • "Stuart has been helpful and reassuring throughout the whole process. His advice was clear and precise, and I'm extremely happy with the outcome."
  • "Anna Neil is a fantastic solicitor. Thank you."
  • "Your service was superb, it would be difficult to improve upon."

0800 316 8892
How can we help? Let us call you.

Enter the characters in the field below

Inquests and the role of the Coroner

In circumstances where somebody has died unexpectedly, either as a result of an accident or medical treatment or the cause of death is otherwise not clear the matter should be referred to a Coroner.

In those circumstances a death certificate should not be issued nor a burial or cremation take place without the Coroners agreement.

Coroners are appointed by the Lord Chancellor to act in a particular geographic area. The Coroner's administration is undertaken by the area local authority. Most big cities and Counties will have their own Coroner.

A Coroner's job is to discover how, when, in what circumstances the deceased came by his death and if necessary the name of the deceased.

The process normally begins with the instruction of a specialist doctor known as a pathologist to undertake an examination of the body (the post mortem) to establish, if possible, the physical cause of death.

The pathologist will produce a written report setting out the results of the post mortem and indicating, in their opinion, what caused the death.

Sometimes an interim death certificate is issued after the post mortem to allow a burial or cremation.

The Coroner will also investigate the circumstances leading up to the death and will take statements from witnesses and look at documents that will assist in this process.

If the issues are particularly complex or unclear the Coroner can also appoint an independent expert such as a doctor or engineer to provide an opinion on a particular part of the evidence.

Once all the evidence has been gathered the Coroner will then hold a hearing known as an Inquest. The area of law surrounding Inquests has become increasingly complex in recent years largely due to the coming into force of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the incorporation into English law of Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights (the Right to Life).

Some or all of the witnesses will be required to attend at the Inquest to give evidence and answer questions.

The Coroner is responsible for asking the questions.

The deceased’s family and others with a valid interest in the proceedings may also attend the Inquest and ask questions of the witnesses either themselves or through a legal representative.

An Inquest may last just an hour or two or many weeks depending on the number of witnesses or interested parties and or the complexity of the circumstances.

Once all the evidence has been heard the Coroner will reach a verdict setting out how, when and why the death occurred.

In certain circumstances (eg. a death in prison or where the deceased was detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983) the Inquest will be held in front of a Jury and the verdict will be delivered by the Jury.

The verdict will allow completion of the death certificate setting out the full cause of death.

In the ordinary course of events it is not the role of the Coroner to establish who might have been to blame for a death.

A number of problems may arise as a result of this process eg:

  • What if, say, the hospital or nursing home refuses to refer the matter to the Coroner?
  • What if the Coroners office refuses to let you have a copy of the post mortem report or you don’t agree with the report and want to obtain a second post mortem?
  • What if you want legal representation at the inquest but cannot afford to pay for a lawyer?
  • What if the Coroner won’t let you see the witness evidence or you want to introduce your own evidence or expert and are not being allowed to do so?
  • What if you don’t agree with the verdict or believe the Coroner has failed to consider all the relevant evidence or reached the wrong verdict?

In all these and any other matters it is important to seek legal advice quickly if you are concerned about the death of a relative or loved one.

We are able to advise you on the legal issues arising from representation at Inquests as well as practical considerations such as how representation could be funded.

In exceptional cases Public Funding (formerly known as legal aid) may be available.