Health and social care providers are all too aware of the possibility of a service user dying in their care, but how prepared are you for the inquest that may follow? What might initially appear to be a routine death can quickly develop into a lengthy and complex inquiry. This can be a difficult and …
Facing An Inquest: What Does This Mean And What Risk Does It Pose To My Business? Read More »
Within the recent case of ‘An application by Patricia Downey for Judicial Review’ [2022] NICA 67, the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland determined that a Coroner had demonstrated bias and prematurely predetermined the engagement of Article 2 before the commencement of an inquest. Background By way of background, Ms Downey’s daughter died in 2017 …
Coroner’s Inquests – A Salutary Reminder For All Decision Makers Read More »
Many health and social care Providers will have had some form of contact with the Coroner’s court, whether it be simply assisting the Coroner with the provision of documentation related to the death of someone who was using or had used their services or attending an Inquest hearing. By their very nature inquests are inquisitorial …
Death of a service user? What Providers should consider if called to an Inquest Read More »
An inquest is held to determine the identity of a deceased person and certain circumstances and facts surrounding their death. Its purpose is not, in theory, to apportion blame. However, this is not to say they can’t have serious commercial and reputational repercussions for providers if not carefully handled. Inquests do tend to be a …
Inquests: Be Prepared for the Unexpected A coroner’s inquest can be a difficult and stressful time for providers. What might initially seem a routine death can quickly spiral into a lengthy and complex inquiry, and a world of onerous requests for records and information, placing huge demands on staff resources. The most straightforward cases can …
On 10 June 2020, the Court of Appeal handed their judgment down in the case of R (Maguire) v HM Senior Coroner for Blackpool and Fylde [2020] EWCA Civ 738 which held that Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights (“ECHR”), was not engaged at the inquest into the death of a vulnerable …
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