How Inquests Uncover Clinical Negligence: Your Questions Answered
Losing a loved one after medical treatment is incredibly difficult.
Written by
Sara Westwood · Partner
Losing a loved one after medical treatment is incredibly difficult. There may be unanswered questions about what happened and why, especially inquests and clinical negligence investigations.
When an inquest into inquests and clinical negligence is held, families feel more prepared.
Understanding the process also helps them know what to expect and feel confident.
Sara Westwood answers families’ questions about the inquest process. She explains the coroner’s role in inquests and clinical negligence. She outlines what happens on the day of an inquest, legal representation, and what happens after it concludes.
1. Why is an inquest being held into the death?
A coroner must investigate deaths in hospital. This includes deaths arising from medical treatment that may be unnatural, sudden and unexplained. It also covers deaths within a specified period after hospital admission or surgery.
2. What investigations does the coroner undertake?
The coroner’s office aims to establish facts about what happened. It will request statements from family or friends of the deceased. It will also request statements from doctors, nurses or other medical practitioners who treated them. There will usually be a statement from the GP of the person who has died. It lists the medications or treatments they were receiving and any health conditions.
3. Is there any other information a coroner obtains?
Hospitals and medical practices frequently obtain the medical records of the person who has died. If the hospital or medical practice has undertaken its internal investigation into events before the death, it may be relevant. The coroner may wish to see the investigation report.
Sometimes, a coroner may instruct an independent medical expert to look over the case and advise on what happened.
4. How do we put the information together for the inquest?
The coroner’s office will put together a bundle of the statements provided, any reports and medical records. The coroner’s office will make the bundle available to the family of the person who has died before the inquest. It isn’t unusual for the bundle to arrive shortly before the inquest.
5. Should I have legal representation at the inquests and clinical negligence inquest?
You can represent yourself at inquests and clinical negligence proceedings.
However, some families prefer legal representation, as the hospital or a GP has representation.
There is often non-legal support available at the Coroner’s Court, provided by volunteers and/or a chaplain.
6. Who funds legal representation at an inquest?
In a minority of cases, where, for example, Article 2 of the ECHR applies to the inquest, legal aid may be available. Otherwise, fund representation privately or on a No Win No Fee basis to pursue a medical negligence claim; the solicitor will act.
7. What happens on the day of the inquest?
The coroner takes the lead throughout the inquest. In the inquest, the coroner or the coroner’s officer will read some statements provided, while other witnesses give live evidence. The coroner will advise you in advance about which witnesses will give live evidence, so you will have time to prepare any questions for them.
The coroner will start the questions and, once they have finished their questioning, the coroner will ask the family if they have any questions. Lastly, the representative for the hospital or medical practitioner will ask questions.
8. Do I have to ask questions if I do not have legal representation?
No, it is your choice whether you want to ask any questions. You do not have to actively participate if you prefer not to.
9. What if it becomes too much for me during the inquest?
Inquests can be very difficult and emotional. The coroner is mindful of this and will allow you to take breaks or leave the room for a while if you need some time.
10. What happens after the judge hears the evidence?
The coroner will discuss the options for a conclusion (formerly called a “verdict”). There are short-form conclusions including “natural causes”, “accident or misadventure”, “road traffic collision” and “unlawful killing”.
Alternatively, to a short-form conclusion, a coroner can give a “narrative conclusion”, which is a more detailed factual statement of a few sentences or paragraphs explaining the circumstances of how someone died.
11. Will the hospital/medical practitioner be held to account for what happened?
The purpose of an inquest is to determine four things:
- Who has died
- When did they die
- Where did they die
- How did they die
An inquest is an inquiry to establish the facts. It isn’t a civil or criminal trial, and it does not assign blame, fault or liability.
12. How can we be sure the events which led to the death won’t happen to anyone else?
If the coroner is concerned that other deaths may occur in similar circumstances unless action is taken by the hospital, they can write a “Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD)” report, which is also known as a Regulation 28 report. The report sets out the coroner’s concerns and the hospital has to respond to set out what action it has taken or will take.
Sometimes, if the hospital has already undertaken an internal investigation (see question 3 above), it may have identified in its report where practices or procedures have been changed or perhaps training provided to avoid another death occurring. If the coroner is satisfied that the report addresses the concerns, there may not be a need for a PFD report.
13. What happens after the inquest?
The coroner will inform the registry of the cause of death, and the registry will issue the death certificate to you. This does sometimes need chasing up.
14. Will the media be at the inquest?
Sometimes the media will be present and may approach you for comment. You do not have to speak with them if you would prefer not to.
How can we help?
If you have concerns about the medical treatment or care your loved one received before their death, our Clinical Negligence team can help you understand your options.
How we can help you
To manage your case, our amiable and approachable partners, solicitors, legal executives, paralegals, and secretaries collaborate actively with you. We also specialise in family, matrimonial, and child law, commercial and residential property, medical negligence, wills, tax and probate, and personal injury.
To find out more about our expertise, please call:
Contact one of the team:
Colin Cook
Managing Partner
Personal & Brain Injury
Sara Westwood
Partner / Head of Dispute Resolution
Medical Negligence
Simon Bransby
Associate
Medical Negligence and Personal Injury
Topics
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. The law may have changed since publication. Please contact us for advice on your own circumstances.
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