Inquests, post mortems and the Coroner
Our specialist team of medical negligence solicitors have been representing families at inquests for more than 20 years.
What is a post mortem (autopsy)?
A post mortem is the examination of a body after death. They are carried out by pathologists (doctors specialising in medical diagnosis), in order to identify the cause of death.
When are they carried out?
Post mortems are carried out:
- where a death is referred to a coroner and the coroner feels that a post mortem is necessary to determine the cause of death (e.g. in the case of a sudden and unexpected death)
- at the request of a hospital, to provide information about an illness or cause of death, and to further medical research (trying to find information about illness and health that might not be uncovered in any other way)
- relatives or partners of the deceased can also request that the hospital carry out a post-mortem to learn more about why their partner or relative died
Consent
If a post mortem is ordered by a coroner, it must take place by law, whether or not the next of kin gives agreement.
If a post mortem is requested by a hospital, written consent is necessary from the deceased's next of kin or nominated representative. In addition, consent from the next of kin is required if the pathologist wants to take samples of human tissue or remove organs for further study and research.
Who is the Coroner?
A coroner is a judicial officer (a lawyer or doctor) responsible for investigating deaths.
What is an inquest?
An Inquest is an independent judicial inquiry carried out by a Coroner in order to establish the cause of an unexpected death and the circumstances which led to that death. The Coroner is in charge of the hearing and calls witnesses to give evidence under oath. The Coroner asks questions of the witnesses. Other interested parties, such as the family or their representatives, are also permitted by the Coroner to ask questions of the witnesses. At the conclusion of the Inquest the Coroner will make findings as to what caused the death. The Coroner is not permitted to make findings of negligence. After the Inquest the family can register the death.
How we can help
We, as medical negligence experts, represent families at inquests into deaths following medical treatment.
We understand that Inquests are often daunting for families, partly because they are extremely upset over the death of a loved one but also because of uncertainty about the procedures and what to expect. We are here to help families through the process. We are there to ensure that families get the best and right answers surrounding the death of their loved ones. We do this by assisting families in the lead up to the Inquest, focusing on the questions they want to ask and will carry out our own investigations to help in determining the cause of death. We will then represent families or instruct barristers to represent the families at the Inquest itself.
Following the Inquest we will also advise on whether a related claim is likely to be successful and will help you through the legal process.
Our specialist and dedicated Medical Negligence team, which includes an in-house nurse and an in-house midwife, have vast experience in representing Claimants in all types of cases such as: failures to diagnose, wrong diagnosis, failures to treat, deaths during procedures, post-operative problems, neonatal deaths, wrong prescriptions, Human Rights cases and many more.
Examples of our work
We list below some recent examples of cases in which we have represented families at Inquests and the process of bringing a legal claim:
W v Darlington Memorial Hospital:
We represented the family at an Inquest in Newcastle to investigate the death of 10 year old William after a failure to diagnose meningitis. Although William complained of symptoms of meningitis his condition went undiagnosed and he was in fact discharged from hospital without the correct treatment for his condition. We acted in the medical negligence claim that arose which was successful. The full story was reported on the Daily Mail here.
Mr. W v Royal Albert Edward Infirmary:
We represented Mr. W at the inquest into the death of his wife, Mrs W who died as a result of her reaction to Azathioprine which was prescribed to manage her eczema. The dermatologist at the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, Wigan, who prescribed the medication, did not arrange for a test to be carried out before prescribing it - the test was required in the Guidelines on Prescription of Azathioprine published by the British Association of Dermatologists. She admitted at the inquest in Bolton that she wrongly thought that funding for the test was not available. Had the test been performed, the result would have indicated that Azathioprine was contraindicated for Mrs W. Mr W is now pursuing a medical negligence claim against the trust with our legal help. The full story was reported in the Manchester Evening News here.
C v Stepping Hill Hospital:
We represented the family at an inquest in Stockport to investigate the death of a mother following a routine elective hysterectomy at Stepping Hill Hospital. The family were concerned that there was a failure after the operation to diagnose liver failure which evidence at the inquest suggested may have been due to an adverse reaction to anaesthesia. The full story was reported in the Stockport Express here.
D v Tameside Hospital:
We represented the parents of ED at an inquest in Stockport before Deputy Coroner Joanne Kearsley in September 2009 to investigate the death of their daughter ED at Tameside Hospital on 10 March 2009.
The family were concerned about the failures by the on-call emergency service Go-To-Doc, the family GP and Tameside Hospital in diagnosing and treating overwhelming sepsis which was apparently caused by pyelonephritis and pneumonia. A medical negligence claim is ongoing. Read about the story in the Manchester Evening News here.
Advice on fatal claims and inquests
For free, expert advice on fatal claims and inquests, click here or call us free on 0800 0382 382. We are available to take your call twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.
If you want to provide some details to us in advance, why not let us assess your claim now.
