Who is the Coroner?
Coroners are judicial officers who are independent and are appointed directly by the Crown. They have qualifications and substantial experience as a lawyer, a medical doctor, or sometimes both.
Why would the Coroner be involved?
- In the event of a death whereby the person has not seen their doctor in the last 14 days or their own GP during their last illness.
- Unknown causes, unexpected or sudden death.
- Death due to industrial diseases.
- Suspicious, violent, unnatural deaths or which need an inquiry for some other reason.
What happens next when the Coroner is involved…
The Coroner will have the deceased brought into thehospital mortuary so they can carry out investigations.They will investigate each case in an appropriate way. It may be as simple as consulting with the doctor who last treated the person who has died, or a post mortem examination may be needed. In some cases, the Coroner may open an inquest, which is a legal inquiry into the death.In all cases, the Coroner aimsnot to disrupt families’ funeral plans, while making sure that the investigations are effective and complete. The Coroner’s office will liaise with the next of kin and the funeral director to let you know when they will release the body and how you should go about registration. Registration will be different depending on each circumstance.
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