Mock inquest training sessions

Tuesday 13 February 2024, 12pm – 1.45pm

This session will be delivered by Simon Tait, Partner at Browne Jacobson, Nicola Evans, Partner at Browne Jacobson and Dr Nina Lewis, Medical Examiner for Nottingham Medical Examiner Service.

During the session, Dr Lewis will take you through the law on reporting and certification of deaths including the role of the Medical Examiner and the process for referring deaths to the Medical Examiner and the Coroner.

Simon Tait will then provide an overview of the inquest process and an introduction to Coronial law.

Tuesday 27 February 2024, 12pm – 1.45pm

This session will be delivered by Mr Zak Golombeck, Area Coroner for Manchester City, Kathryn Fearn, Director of Legal Services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and Nicola Evans, Partner at Browne Jacobson.

During the session, Nicola and Kathryn will deliver a practical session full of hints and tips for writing your report to the Coroner. We will also hear from Mr Golombeck with guidance for witnesses giving oral evidence in court or remotely, to equip you to understand your duties to the court and to give your evidence to the court confidently and compassionately.

Thursday 7 March 2024, 12pm – 2pm

During this session, we will show you a pre-filmed mock inquest both in court and via a mock remote inquest hearing to provide a realistic experience of a hearing from opening to Conclusion. The focus of this session will be on preparing for and attending an inquest hearing – both in-person and remotely. The mock inquest was filmed in a real courtroom before Dr Robert Hunter, former Senior Coroner for Derbyshire.

Simon Tait will then deliver a session on the wider implications of the inquest for the organisations and clinicians involved, looking at media coverage, compensation claims, disciplinary and professional implications.

This module will close with a Q&A session, when delegates will have an opportunity to put questions to a panel including Professor Catherine Mason, Senior Coroner for Leicester City and South Leicestershire and Miss Louise Pinder, Assistant Coroner for Derby and South Derbyshire.

Tuesday 12 March, 12pm – 1.45pm

This module will be delivered by Mark Barnett and Rebecca Fitzpatrick, Partners at Browne Jacobson LLP and leading specialists in mental health law. Both regularly deal with inquests into deaths in a mental health setting. Rebecca also sits as a First Tier Judge in the Mental Health Tribunal.

This module builds on earlier modules but with a focus on issues which are unique to preparing for inquests in a mental health setting. Rebecca and Mark will provide an overview of the relevant Coronial law and will deliver a practical session full of hints and tips for healthcare professionals preparing to give evidence at an inquest where the death involves mental health services.

Tuesday 19 March 2024, 12pm – 1.45pm

This module will be delivered by Mark Barnett, Partner, and Clare Shepherd, Senior Associate at Browne Jacobson. This module builds on earlier modules but with a focus on issues which are unique to preparing for inquests in a local authority setting.

Clare and Mark will provide an overview of the relevant Coronial law and will deliver a practical session full of hints and tips for social workers and care professionals preparing to give evidence at an inquest where the death involves local authority services.

Wednesday 20 March 2024, 12pm – 2pm

This module will be delivered by Nicola Evans and Heather Caddy, who are both Partners at Browne Jacobson. The module builds on earlier modules and includes three pre-filmed mock inquest films based around a fictional maternity case study, which were filmed in a real life court before Mrs Louise Hunt, Senior Coroner for Birmingham and Solihull and Mr Ian Dreelan, Assistant Coroner for Birmingham.

We will explore issues unique to maternity inquests but the module also explores issues of wider application including the importance of good documentation and the impact of culture and team dynamics on patient care.