Coping with the death of a loved one is never easy and can be distressing, especially if the death is in circumstances that you don’t fully understand or you feel leaves questions to be answered.
At Morrish Solicitors, we have specialist inquest solicitors who have the knowledge and experience to assist and support you through the inquest process and act in your interests at the inquest hearing.
An inquest is a legal investigation into the circumstances surrounding a person’s death. It is a fact-finding enquiry, the purpose of which is to find out who the deceased person was and how, when and where they died to provide the details needed to register their death.
The coroner investigating the death can also make recommendations on any findings that the death could have been prevented.
It is important that no one else will go through the pain and suffering of bereavement in these circumstances. The coroner can discover the facts behind the death and help prevent any similar deaths in the future.
The inquest process is complicated and can be intimidating whilst you’re trying to cope with the loss of your loved one. Morrish Solicitors’ experienced team can support you throughout the entire process ensuring the facts surrounding the death are properly investigated, which can relieve the burden.
The purpose of the inquest process is to investigates unnatural or violent deaths, where the cause of death is unknown, or because the death took place in prison, police custody or another type of state detention, such as a mental health hospital.
The coroner’s role is to find out who died and how, when, and where they died.
The coroner can also consider whether the information discovered as part of the investigation can be used to prevent other deaths.
As a relative or representative of the person who died you have the right to receive documents and evidence and to ask the witnesses relevant questions at the inquest hearing.
Under the law, the coroner must open an inquest into a person’s death if there is reasonable justification to suspect that the death was due to anything other natural causes. However, there is no legal definition of a ‘natural’ cause of death.
An inquest is required under the following circumstances:
If you would like legal representation, please contact our specialist inquest solicitors on 033 3344 9600.
An interested person has certain rights during the investigation and inquest, which includes:
If you are a close relative or the personal representative of the person who has died, you will be considered to be an ‘interested person’.
The definition also includes a person involved with the death and anyone else who the coroner thinks has a sufficient interest or has been called to give evidence.
There is no requirement to have legal representation at an inquest. However, there may be times where you might wish to have legal advice or representation in preparing for or attending the inquest, particularly if another interested party such as the state or public body has legal representation, or may feel you would benefit from professional advice and support to guide you through the process.
Public funding for legal advice and assistance before the inquest hearing might be available depending on your financial circumstances. This can be used to help you to prepare questions that you want the coroner to ask other witnesses.
Public funding for legal representation at the inquest hearing is only available in certain circumstances.
If you are wanting professional advice and representation for an inquest, our specialist solicitors have the expertise and experience to assist.
For further information or to enquire please contact us on 033 3344 9600 or complete our online enquiry form.
Notable cases dealt with by our team include the following:
