The Coroner

The coroner is a doctor or lawyer responsible for investigating deaths in the following situations:

• the deceased was not attended by a doctor during the last illness or the doctor treating the deceased had not seen him or her either after death or within the 14 days before death
• the death was violent or unnatural or occurred under suspicious circumstances
• the cause of death is not known or is uncertain
• the death occurred while the patient was undergoing an operation or did not recover from the anaesthetic
• the death was caused by an industrial disease
• the death occurred in prison or in police custody.

If you want advice or information about a death which has been reported to the coroner, contact the coroner’s office.