Dealing With A Coroner

There are times when a death must be reported to the coroner. The circumstances that might require this are:

• There isn’t a doctor who can issue a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death
• The deceased was not seen by the particular doctor who is issuing the medical certificate or hasn’t been within 14 days before death
• The cause of death is unknown or believed to be unnatural or suspicious
• The death happened during an operation or before recovery from anaesthetic
• The cause of death involves industrial disease or industrial poisoning

Once a death has been reported to the coroner, the registrar will not register the death until the coroner has said whether they need to investigate the death any further. In most cases, this isn’t needed and the registration can be completed without delay.

If you do face a coroners investigation, they may take one of the following actions:

• No further action – the doctor will issue the Medical Cause of Death Certificate and issue a form (Part A) direct to the register office
• Conduct a post-mortem to establish the cause of death. When complete, you can register the death with a form (Part B) that is sent directly to the register office
• Hold an inquest – on completion of the inquest the coroner will register the death and pass the paperwork on to the funeral director. The death certificate issued by the registrar will not be available until the inquest is complete. The Coroner may open and adjourn the inquest and issue an Interim Death Certificate so that the funeral can take place.  The final Death Certificate issued by the Registrar will not be available until the inquest has been completed.