The Role of the Coroner

The coroner is an independent officer with the statutory responsibility for the legal investigation of some categories of deaths. The coroner is either a doctor or a lawyer by background, and is supported by a team of coroner’s officers, who investigate any deaths which are referred to the coroner’s office.

The coroner is usually involved with any deaths that are:

• Sudden or unexpected deaths, without regard to age.
• Where death involved violence, trauma, physical injury or was caused by an accident.
• Where the cause of death is unknown, and the doctor is not able to issue a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death.
• Where death has occurred during or after surgery, treatment, or medical procedure.

This list is not exhaustive, and there are also many other reasons why a doctor may refer a death to the coroner.

Once the coroner has received the referral, one of the coroner’s officers will contact the family within a day or two to discuss the referral and listen to any views they may have.

If the coroner is satisfied that there is no investigation is required, they will advise the doctor to proceed with writing the Medical Cause of Death Certificate. This means the family can proceed with registration once the certificate has been completed by the doctor.

Sometimes, the coroner may feel that further investigation is needed, and this investigation may include an inquest. When this happens, the doctor will no longer need to issue the Medical Cause of Death Certificate and the Coroner’s Office will take over all aspects of paperwork relating to the death.