How do I contact the Coroner’s Court?
What happens when a death of my loved one is reported to the Coroner?
How long will the whole process take?
What Documents will I be given before the Inquest?
Will I have to attend the inquest and give evidence?
What can I ask before and during the inquest hearing?
Do I need legal representation?
What happens on the day/ the first day of the inquest hearing?
What happens with the press?
What happens if I want to bring forward a civil claim before or after the inquest?
Where can I find further help and advice?
How do I contact the Coroner’s Court?
You may wish to contact the Coroner to report your concerns about a death or to ask questions. You can click on the link below to find a list of the addresses and telephone numbers for the Coroner’s Courts for England and Wales: http://www.coronersociety.org.uk/
What happens when a death of my loved one is reported to the Coroner?
The Coroner’s Officer should notify you as soon as possible about their investigation into the death of your next of kin and keep you updated as to progress.
The Coroner will be keen to assess whether s/he can assess the cause of death without the need for an inquest hearing or whether further information is required in order to reach a decision. Quite often it is clear from the outset that the matter will require an inquest hearing.
The Coroner will order that a post mortem report is undertaken if s/he is not able to ascertain the cause of death from the medical information available or if there are suspicious circumstances or cause for concern as to how the deceased came by their death.
A post mortem will nearly always cause a delay in the release of the deceased for burial or cremation; this can be particularly distressing for close relatives. There should not be undue delay in the undertaking of the post mortem examination and issue of an interim death certificate for the release of the body; we can assist of there are difficulties with the Coroner’s Court concerning this.
As a close relative you should have a nominated Coroner’s Officer (who is usually a former police officer) appointed to liaise with you and assist you with queries and to keep you updated. If the police are also involved in the investigation into the death then a Family Liaison Officer should be appointed to you by the local police force.
How long will the whole process take?
This depends on which Coroner’s Court is investigating the death, as some have much longer waiting lists than others. After the Coroner has decided to proceed with an inquest hearing s/he will instruct the Coroner’s Officers to gather evidence required in order to ascertain the cause of death. Unfortunately this process can take some time and it is often up to a year or more before an inquest is heard. It is therefore often useful if solicitors are instructed to represent the family, as we can often help to provide this information to the Coroner and quicken the process.
If the inquest is likely to last for more than 2 days or require a Jury to hear the evidence then it may take longer for the Court to list the hearing in its diary to list the hearing. More often than not the Court will also hold a Pre Inquest Review (PIR) hearing in order to clarify the evidence and timetabling for the inquest itself. The PIR hearing will not hear any witness evidence, it will simply be for legal procedures and evidence to be admitted to be considered. You can attend this hearing in person or you can appoint a Legal Representative to act on your behalf.
What Documents will I be given before the Inquest?
Technically you are not entitled to automatic disclosure of any documentation from the Coroner in advance of the inquest. Most Coroner’s, however, realise that this is a very overbearing and unfair approach to take and will provide full disclosure to the family on request before the hearing. Indeed under new Coroner reforms there is likely to be a positive obligation on the Coroner to provide early adequate disclosure to allow families to prepare for the hearing.
Documents usually include the post mortem examination report, medical records, reports or statements from treating doctors or witnesses and police reports etc. Quite often the police will not release any Police Report without the permission of the Coroner.
Relatives of the deceased will have access to medical records directly from the GP or hospital in any event and should be entitled to police reports directly also.
Will I have to attend the inquest and give evidence?
There is no ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer to this. Quite often the Coroner’s officer will take a statement from a family member in order to obtain background information. However if the family member has important information to give about the cause of death or was present at the time of death then this evidence will be of crucial importance to the inquest.
If the statement is to be introduced into the evidence before the Court then it may be either read with no questions asked afterwards, or the witness may be called to give oral evidence also.
If your evidence is not agreed by another interested party then you will have to be called so that questions can be put to you.
The Coroner’s Officer should prepare you for the process of giving evidence in the Court and your Solicitor can also do this for you.
What can I ask before and during the inquest hearing?
Before the hearing you/ your Legal Representative can ask the Coroner to consider various matters of evidence and ask him or her to adduce certain pieces of evidence you consider important. We can also put legal points to the Coroner, such as the engagement of Article 2 under the European Court of Human Rights; the timetabling of the inquest, witnesses to be called and/or set out your position on the case and what verdicts you wish the Coroner to consider.
During the inquest you can ask questions of witnesses which go to establishing the cause of the death. The Coroner may have to limit the extent of questions asked, as unless there is engagement of Article 2 or a jury inquest, the scope of the inquest is likely to be limited to the immediate events prior to the death, looking at ‘how, when and why’ the deceased died. In wider scope inquests the Coroner will widen the scope of the hearing to look at ‘how and in what circumstances’ the deceased came by their death.
The Coroner’s Court system claims to be designed so that the interested parties to the inquest can represent themselves at the hearing; however stress and bereavement can make this very difficult in practice and a solicitor or barrister can be appointed to ask questions sensitively on your behalf.
Do I need legal representation?
Quite often the Coroner’s Courts will now suggest to families that legal representation should be sought. This is a particular obligation on their part when ‘Article 2’ is engaged.
In most circumstances it is a matter of personal choice as to whether you wish to be represented at the hearing or not and in no case is there any legal requirement for representation.
What happens on the day/ the first day of the inquest hearing?
The Coroner usually opens the inquest hearing at 10am. You should be there in good time so that you can meet with the Coroner’s Officer in advance and be seated in the area usually reserved for the family.
You should dress formally as this is a Court of Law; dressing respectfully is advised.
The Court room can be the resident Court of the Coroner or the Coroner may need to hire a building to use for the purposes of the hearing. Wherever the inquest is held the Coroner will sit at the front of the room and the witness box will be to his side, with interested parties seated in front of the Coroner.
Very few Coroners now dress in legal gowns and wigs; in the vast majority of cases the Coroner will simply wear a suit, as will the lawyers for the family, if instructed.
All the interested parties to the inquest will be there and so you are likely to have to face people whom you may hold responsible for having caused the death of your loved one. You will therefore need to be prepared for what can be a very emotional and stressful experience.
The Coroner will re-open the inquest and usually explain the order in which s/he will call the witnesses. The witnesses are usually called in chronological order.
After all of the evidence is heard the Coroner will hear any legal submissions before summing up the evidence; the Coroner (and Jury if appropriate) will then retire to consider their verdict.
What happens with the press?
All inquest hearings are public hearings and as such are fully open to the press who may report upon the evidence heard. If you feel that some evidence is so sensitive it should not become public knowledge there may be legal arguments that can be put to the Court, but specific legal advice would be required.
Some families are keen to engage the interest of the press in order to promote their concerns in a public forum. It is however advised that you do not give formal or informal statements to the press until after the inquest hearing has been heard, so as not to prejudice any of the evidence to be given to the Court.
You may wish to issue a written press release after the inquest and this is something we can assist you with and advise you on.
What happens if I want to bring forward a civil claim before or after the inquest?
We can fully advise you as to whether it may be possible to bring a civil claim.
If the Defendants have not admitted liability before the inquest then a large proportion of the costs of representation at the inquest will later be recoverable from the Defendants as part of the costs of the civil claim.
Where can I find further help and advice?
There are a number of charities who are there to assist you through your bereavement and through the inquest process, some of them are detailed below:
- BRAKE – who provide care and support to people following a road crash. Telephone: 01484 559 909, website: www.brake.org.uk
- CRUSE Bereavement Care – who help people understand and cope with their loss following a death. Telephone: 0844 477 9400, website: www.crusebereavementcare.org.uk
- The Compassionate Friends – a charity that helps bereaved parents, siblings and grandparents who have suffered the death of a child. Telephone: 0845 123 2304, website: www.tcf.org.uk
- INQUEST - this charity operates a casework service for those bereaved after a death in custody, psychiatric detention or immigration. Telephone: 020 7263 1111 Website: www.inquest.gn.apc.org
- AvMA- this charity can assist with inquests related to medical deaths. Telephone: 0845 123 2352 Website: http://www.avma.org.uk/
- Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide – this organisation can be contacted on Telephone: 0870 241 3337, website: www.uk-sobs.org.uk
