Fatal Accidents and Inquests

No amount of money can replace the untimely death of a loved one. However, the loss of a spouse or close relative often has grave financial consequences just when you are feeling at your most vulnerable. This is where our solicitors' many years experience of representing clients in fatal accident claims can help.

We will investigate the accident circumstances and where necessary arrange for representation at the inquest or criminal trial of the defendant. Preparing for an inquest can be a traumatic and bewildering experience on top of the shock and distress caused by the death. Many people feel that the legal procedures and processes in trying to discover the truth about the circumstances of a death are the last thing they can cope with after losing someone close. At Bond Pearce we are experienced in helping people following the death of a loved one including representation at inquest. We aim to take the pressure off you at this most difficult of times and help you to get the answers you deserve.

We have represented people at inquest for a range of cases including:

• Deaths which have occurred due to accidents at work such as falls, falling objects, hit by a moving vehicle, crushing injuries. Our experience is wide ranging and includes accidents in the construction, agriculture, mining, and manufacturing industries.
• Deaths as a result of industrial disease
• Clinical negligence and medical accidents
• Accidents on the road including driver, passenger, pedestrian, motorcyclist and pillion passengers
• Accidents whilst playing sport
• Accidents overseas whilst on holiday or business such as accidents on the road
• Death as a result of a criminal assault
• We have also represented families of children who have died as a result of the above and also cot death, shaken baby, criminal assault, during birth, at school and on the road.

We have provided some further information on this area below which we hope you find of help.

Do I need a solicitor?
If you are concerned about the circumstances of the death of a loved one then you should consider seeing a solicitor who has specialist experience as soon as possible. Whilst you might have been told by the coroner or coroner's officer that it is not necessary, if you need help or have concerns about the death then it is worth speaking with a specialist solicitor first. It is not always necessary to have a solicitor but if you want to be legally represented at the inquest it is important. It can also help to have a solicitor to assist you in obtaining any paperwork related to your relative's death or the circumstances surrounding the death.

What is an inquest?
It is an inquiry into the facts surrounding a death presided over by a coroner in order to:

• find out the medical cause of death
• draw attention to the existence of circumstances which, if nothing is done, might lead to further deaths in the same manner
• advance medical knowledge
• preserve the legal interests of the deceased person's family or other interested parties

It is important to remember that the inquest system is not there to establish who was responsible for a death. However, the Coroner does have the power to investigate not just the main cause of death, but also "any acts or omissions which directly led to the cause of death". The purpose of the inquest is to answer:

• Who someone was
• Where they died - the place where the death occurred
• When they died - the date and time
• How they came to their death - the manner and the facts surrounding the death

There are several verdicts that a coroner or his jury can reach. Possible verdicts include:

• natural causes
• accidental death or death by misadventure
• suicide
• unlawful or lawful killing
• Industrial disease
• open verdicts (where there is insufficient evidence for any other verdict)

Sometimes the inquest will show that something needs to be done to prevent a recurrence. The coroner can draw attention to this publicly and will write to someone in authority about it, for example the council or a government department. Your legal team might also be able to use this information in bringing a claim for damages or in other court proceedings on your behalf.

Who is a coroner?
A coroner is appointed by the local authority in which her/his court lies. Although they are appointed by, and paid for, by local councils, they are not local government officers, but hold office under the Crown. As they are a judicial officer they can only be removed from office by the Lord Chancellor. Each coroner has a deputy and one of them must be available at all times to deal with matters relating to the inquest and post mortems. Coroners are either solicitors, barristers and/or qualified medical practitioners of not less than five years standing. Infact one of our team Maria Voisin sits as a Deputy Coroner.

Coroner's officers are the staff in the coroner's courts that bereaved families will have most contact with before the inquest. Many of them, but not all, are ex-police officers or serving police officers permanently working for the coroner.

What does the coroner do?
Coroners enquire into those deaths reported to them. They will seek to establish the medical cause of death; if the cause remains in doubt after a post mortem, an inquest will be held.

Not all deaths are reported to a coroner. In most cases, a GP or hospital doctor can issue a Medical Certificate of the cause of death and the death can be registered by the Registrar of Births and Deaths, who will issue the Death Certificate.

When is a death reported to the coroner?
When the death was sudden, or unexpected, violent or unnatural, occurred during medical care such as an operation, was due to an industrial disease, or when no doctor has treated the deceased during his or her last illness.

Deaths are usually reported to the coroner by the police or by a doctor called to the death if it is sudden. But a doctor will also report a patient's death if unexpected. In other cases, the local registrar of deaths may make the report. Whenever the death has been reported to the coroner the registrar must wait for the coroner to finish his or her enquiries before the death can be registered.

What will the coroner do when a death is reported?
The coroner may decide that death was quite natural and that there is a doctor who can sign a form saying so. In this case the coroner will advise the registrar. The coroner may ask a pathologist to examine the body. If the examination - a post mortem shows death to have been a natural one, there may be no need for an inquest and the coroner will send a form to the registrar of deaths so that the death can be registered by the relatives. If the death is not due to a natural cause the coroner will hold an inquest.

Other court proceedings and what happens if someone has been charged with causing the death?
Where a person has been charged with murder or manslaughter, 'child destruction' (killing a foetus after 28 weeks), infanticide, causing death by reckless driving or taking part in another person's suicide, the inquest is postponed until the person's criminal trial is over. Before adjourning, the coroner finds out who the deceased was and how he or she died. After the criminal proceedings, the coroner may restart the inquest. If the coroner decides not to hold an inquest, the Registrar of Deaths is given a certificate with the result of the criminal proceedings, so that they can register the death.

Any other court proceedings will normally follow the inquest. When all the facts about the cause of death are known, then a person may be brought before another court, or a claim for damages/compensation made. The inquest may be of help to the family of the deceased in finding out what happened. The information obtained may also help to avoid similar accidents in future.

Jury Inquest
Most inquests are held without a jury. But a jury is needed if;

• the person died in prison;
• the death was caused by an occurrence that needs to be reported to a Government department;
• the death occurred in circumstances which may affect the health or safety of the public; or
• the coroner thinks it is necessary to have a jury.

After the inquest and challenging a coroner's decision

Can a claim be brought after the inquest?
The role of the inquest is not to decide who was to blame and many families wish to continue to investigate their loved ones death. One way to do this is to bring a civil claim but there is never a guarantee that they will get the answers they seek. The surviving spouse and parents of a child under the age of 18 can bring an action to claim the statutory bereavement allowance of £10,000. Supplemental claims can also be made for the funeral and other out of pocket expenses.

What if I am unhappy with the conduct of the inquest and the verdict?
If you are concerned your solicitor will be able to advise you, however it is important to remember that this area of the law is complex and it requires specialist knowledge of the law which is both up-to-date and in depth. Time limits are short for such challenges and many of these actions must take place immediately following the inquest or any decision having been made. Areas where we can provide advice include:-

• If a coroner has refused to hold an inquest
• An appeal against the verdict of a coroner
• Applications to quash an inquest or to hold one after the refusal of a coroner
• Overturning or amending a verdict if it appears that the coroner made an error in the interpretation of the law this must take place within 3months of the initial inquest verdict
• Overturning or amending a verdict where new evidence is found that was not available at the original inquest
• If evidence comes to light sometime after a death that suggests a death was unnatural or the cause of death uncertain
• Exhuming a body if new evidence comes to light that suggests an inquest is necessary because a death was unnatural or the cause uncertain