Deaths ref to Coroner

A death is reported to a Coroner in the following situations:

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• a doctor did not treat the person during their last illness

• a doctor did not see or treat the person for the condition from which they died within 28 days of death

• the cause of death was sudden, violent or unnatural such as an accident, or suicide

• the cause of death was murder

• the cause of death was an industrial disease of the lungs such as asbestosis

• the death occurred in any other circumstances that may require investigation

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A death in hospital should be reported if:

• there is a question of negligence or misadventure about the treatment of the person who died

• they died before a provisional diagnosis was made and the general practitioner is not willing to certify the cause

• the patient died as the result of the administration of an anaesthetic

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A death should be reported to a Coroner by the police, when:

• a dead body is found

• death is unexpected or unexplained

• a death occurs in suspicious circumstances

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A death should be reported by the Governor of a prison immediately following the death of a prisoner no matter what the cause of death is.

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