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Browne Jacobson home

Health home

Services

Inquests and investigations

inquests and investigations

find out about the services offered by our dedicated health and social care team

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mock inquest are you ready to give evidence?

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Coroners’ inquests into unnatural deaths involving health and social care organisations are on the increase. They are particularly stressful for individuals called to give evidence, with the cases being held in public and often in front of family members of the deceased.

We know that every case is different and our approach is tailored to your requirements - inquests always require a combination of shrewd legal analysis and sensitive handling.

Our specialist inquest team advises on over 300 inquests per year, dealing with many complex and sensitive matters and has developed a nationally recognised expertise in the field of coronial law. Many of the witnesses we deal with are unfamiliar with the coroner’s court and have never given evidence before. We support them throughout the process, providing careful guidance on what to expect.

We have been working on behalf of public and private sector health organisations for many years, appearing before more than 50 different coroners across the country, lecturing nationally and hosting quarterly inquest and litigation forums.

what we do...

A total solution - we advise on related claims and policy issues, police investigations, Health & Safety Executive prosecutions and disciplinary action.
Review of statements to be sent to the coroner.
Advice on legal issues, disclosure of documents and likely determinations.
Advice on dealing with media and reputational issues.

Pre-inquest meetings with your people involved in the case.
Advocacy at the inquest and any pre-inquest hearings.
Assistance with responding to Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) reports.

related resources

Legal updates

Health Service Safety Investigations Bill: a new bill to improve patient safety

The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) which became operational on 1 April 2017 was established to offer support and guidance to NHS organisations on incident investigations whilst also carrying out up to 30 investigations itself each year in order to provide meaningful safety recommendations to share learning across the NHS.

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Legal updates

Applications for pre-action disclosure and the Access to Health Records Act 1990

The Access to Health Records Act 1990 (‘the AHRA’) provides a statutory right of access (subject to some exemptions) to a deceased patient’s medical records to a small number of people.

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Upcoming webinars

Mental capacity act and deprivation of liberty case law update

Join our webinar for an update on recent case law in relation to medical treatment cases

View upcoming webinars

Upcoming webinars

Deprivation of liberty case law update - including the judgment in N v A CCG - 18 April 2017

Ben Troke will summarise and consider the impact of this judgment, and give advice on putting the decision into practice.

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what our clients say....

Exceptional client service Browne Jacobson

Whilst I hope we do not have to work together again in circumstances such as this, on a personal note can I please thank you for your support and guidance on this matter. From the outset your help has proven to be very professional, timely and informative.

what the directories say...

They are a leading, one-stop-shop healthcare firm. They offer a whole range of services. Their out-of-hours support is very strong.

Chambers 2017

recent experience

Represented a hospital into the death of a woman from the “flesh-eating bug”, necrotising fasciitis. The patient had been admitted with intense pain in her elbow, which doctors attributed to an underlying rheumatic condition. The family alleged that an immediate diagnosis should have been made - we persuaded the coroner at the inquest that the treatment had been timely and earlier intervention could not have been possible.
We advised on an inquest involving an elderly lady in care who suffered injuries, haemorrhage and subsequent death after being dropped from a hoist by carers – we represented the care providers. The key issues related to safeguarding and a PFD implication. Whilst the policies and procedures of the care provider were scrutinised in detail, we successfully avoided a PFD notice and minimised media attention.
We advised on a high profile baby inquest in which considerable attention was placed on the medical management of the labour; multiple hospital witnesses were called to give evidence and high volumes of documentation were disclosed. The verdict was one of natural causes and critical comments via summing up by the coroner were minimised.

our people

related opinions

NHS Resolution publishes 'five years of cerebral palsy claims'

In line with its greater strategic focus on prevention and learning to improve safety, NHS Resolution has today published ‘Five years of cerebral palsy claims’.

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'Deaths under DoLS' – inquests no longer mandatory from 3 April 2017

From 3 April 2017 the Policing and Crime Act 2017 comes into effect to amend the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and relieve coroners of the current duty to hold an inquest into every death where the deceased was subject to a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) authorisation or was deprived of their liberty through provisions in the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

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