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Coroners service
The Lancashire Coroners operate within a legal framework and have a duty to investigate all sudden, unexpected, violent or unnatural deaths and deaths that occur in legal custody..
The Coroner will seek to establish the medical cause of death and the Coroner may order a post mortem examination to discover the cause of death. If the cause remains in doubt after a post mortem the Coroner may hold an inquest.
Which deaths need to be reported to the coroner?
A small number of deaths have to be reported to the coroner before they can be registered and before the document allowing the funeral to go ahead can be issued. The following are the deaths that, if not already reported to the coroner by someone else, will be reported by the registrar:
- where there is no doctor who can issue a medical certificate of cause of death
- where the deceased was not seen by the doctor issuing the medical certificate after death nor within 14 days before death
- where the cause of death is unknown
- where the cause of death is believed to be unnatural or suspicious
- where the death occurred during an operation or before recovery from an anaesthetic
- where the death is due to industrial disease or industrial poisoning
Once a death has been reported to the coroner, the registrar cannot go ahead with the registration until the coroner has decided whether any further investigation into the death is necessary. In the vast majority of cases no further investigation is necessary and the registration can be completed straightaway.
When can the funeral be held?
If the Coroner’s investigation or a post mortem reveal that the death was due to natural causes and that an inquest is not needed, the Coroner will release the body and you can register the death. The funeral can then take place. If an inquest is to be held a death cannot be registered until it has been completed, but the Coroner will usually issue a certificate that will allow the funeral to take place.
If a death has been referred to the Coroner a Registrar cannot register the death and issue a Death Certificate until the body is released by the Coroner.
What is a post mortem?
A post mortem is a medical examination carried out by a pathologist at the Coroner’s request. The purpose is to establish the cause of death. The consent of the next of kin is not required for a coroner’s post mortem. Copies of a post mortem report will normally be available to the next-of-kin and to certain other relatives. A fee may be payable.
What is an inquest?
An inquest is an inquiry into:
- Who has died
- How, when and where the death occurred
An inquest is not a trial and it is not the Coroner’s job to deal with questions of civil or criminal liability. Possible verdicts include: natural causes, accident, suicide, unlawful or lawful killing, industrial disease, and open verdicts where there is insufficient evidence for any other verdict.
Access to medical records by the Coroner
Medical records remain confidential after death. However, Coroners are entitled to request medical information that is relevant and necessary to their enquiries.
Taking the body abroad or bringing it back to this country
If you wish to take the body abroad, you must give written notice to the Coroner. The Coroner will tell you within four days whether further enquiries are needed.
If you wish to bring the body back to England or Wales, the Coroner may need to be involved. In certain circumstances, an inquest may be necessary. You can ask for advice from your local Coroner's Office.
Reporting treasure finds to the Coroner
Coroners also deal with finds that may be classed as treasure.
Coroner's officers contact information
Accrington/Ribble Valley/ longridge
Phone: 01254 743116
Burnley
Phone: 01282 804508
Chorley / Ormskirk
Phone: 01257 246207
Lancaster
Phone: 01524 596675
Preston
Phone: 01772 524740
HM Coroner
Dr James R.H Adeley
Coroner's Court - Faraday Court
Faraday Drive
Fulwood
Preston
Lancashire
PR2 9NB
Phone: 01772 703700
HM Coroner - Burnley
Mr Richard Graeme Taylor
Southerns, 6a, Hargreaves Street
Burnley
Lancashire
BB11 1ES
Phone: 01282 438446