If an individual passes away in suspicious circumstances, passes away without a known cause of death or passes away following medical treatment but there is uncertainty surrounding the treatment the case the death will firstly be passed to a coroner. A death being reported to a coroner does not mean that an inquest will necessarily be made. Some examples of situations in which deaths must be reported and inquests may be made are:
- If it is thought the death may be due to industrial disease or industrial poisoning an inquest will have to be opened to ensure that if there is an issue in a particular place of work which is putting employees at risk, this issue is dealt with.
- Wasn’t visited by a doctor during final illness – if a doctor did not visit the deceased during the individual’s final illness the cause of death will not be known. The reason the individual has passed away may be very obvious, in which case the death certificate will simply be signed by a doctor. However, if the cause of death is still unknown an inquest may be required.
- Death occurred during an operation
- Death occurred whilst under anaesthesia
It is possible that following the coroner’s assessment the matter will be over. In this case a doctor must sign a medical certificate confirms the cause of death and the coroner must also produce a certificate saying that no post mortem is needed if the death which has been passed to them is easily explainable.
However, if a coroner cannot easily determine a cause of death, they will have to conduct a post mortem. If a post mortem is being conducted you cannot prevent this from occurring. However, you are entitled to know when the post mortem is going to take place and where the post mortem is going to be located. To add to this, the GP of the individual who has passed away is also allowed to access this information.
Finally if a post mortem proves inconclusive, this is when an inquest will be held. An inquest is an in depth investigation into the circumstances of an individual’s death. Whilst an inquest is being conducted you will not be able to register the death although you will be able to prove the death has occurred. The coroner conducting the inquest will be able to give you a certificate to show this. Inquests must be conducted if a person has potentially died a violent death, has died whilst in the care of the police, or has died in a prison. A body of evidence will be collected and relatives can voice any concerns they have regarding the death. The inquest will be able to determine whether anyone is at fault for your loved one’s death – for example it will be able to ascertain whether the case is a matter of medical negligence. An inquest can take between 3 and 9 months to complete.