THE CORONER

What does the Coroner do?
It is in the general interest of the community that any sudden or unexplained death should be investigated, and every county has to appoint one or more coroners, who are experienced doctors or lawyers, to do this. The cost of this service is met from the rates, but coroners are judicial officers who are quite independent of both local and central government and are required to act in accordance with certain laws and rules of procedure. They have to be available (or arrange for suitably qualified deputies to be available) at all times. Coroners are assisted by small staff of officers, whose number depends upon the size and population of the district in which they serve.

Are all deaths reported to the coroner?
No. in most cases the deceased's own doctor, or a hospital doctor who has been treating him, is able to give a medical certificate of the cause of death.

When is a death reported to the coroner?
When no doctor has treated the deceased during his or her last illness; or when the doctor attending the patient did not see him or her within 14 days before death, or after death; or when the death occurred during an operation or before recovery from the effect of an anaesthetic; or when the death was sudden and unexplained or attended by suspicious circumstances; or when the death might be due to an industrial injury or disease, or to accident, violence, neglect or abortion, or to any kind of poisoning; or when the death occurred in prison or in police custody.

How is a death reported?
A death occurring in any of the above circumstances is usually reported to the coroner by the police or by a doctor called to the death if it is sudden or accidental, or by a doctor who has treated the person who died if the death was unexpected. Where no such report has been made then a duty falls upon the registrar of deaths to make the report. But in whichever of these circumstances the death is reported, the registrar must await the outcome of the coroner's enquiries before registering the death. Such enquiries may take time and it is therefore always best in such cases to contact the coroner's office before funeral arrangements are made.

What will the coroner do?
The coroner may be able to ascertain that death was due to a natural cause and that there is a doctor who is able to certify the cause of death. If this is not the case the coroner arranges to have the body removed for an examination to be made. The examination often shows that the death was due to natural causes and in such a case there is no inquest. Instead, the coroner sends a certificate to the Registrar of Deaths so that the death can be registered. At that stage the coroner can, if required, issue a certificate for cremation. Alternatively, after registering the death, the Registrar can issue a certificate for burial or cremation.

If the death is not due to a natural cause?
The coroner is obliged by law to hold an inquest.