Coroners, post-mortems and inquests
The coroner is a doctor or lawyer responsible for investigating deaths in particular situations and can also arrange for a post-mortem examination of the body, if necessary. An inquest is a legal inquiry into the causes and circumstances of a death.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.
If death occurs in any of the following circumstances, the doctor may report it to the coroner:
after an accident or injury
following an industrial disease
during a surgical operation or before recovery from an anaesthetic
if the cause of death is unknown
if the death was violent or unnatural - for example, suicide, accident or drug or alcohol overdose
if the death was sudden and unexplained - for instance, a sudden infant death (cot death)
Anyone who is concerned about the cause of a death can inform a coroner about it, but in most cases a death will be reported to the coroner by a doctor or the police.
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.
Where an investigation is required this is called an inquest.
Coroners offices in Derbyshire
Derby and South Derbyshire
HM Coroner
St Katherine's House
St Mary's Wharf
Mansfield Road
Derby
DE1 3TQ
Tel: 01332 343225
High Peak, Chesterfield and North Derbyshire (The Hundred of Scarsdale)
HM Coroner
Coroners Court,
5-6 Royal Court,
Basil Close,
Chesterfield,
S41 7SL,
Tel: 01246 201391
Information on other websites
More about coroners, post-mortems and inquests on the DirectGov website (opens in a new window)