Referral to the Coroner

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The majority of deaths notified to the coroner are completely natural, but the cause of death is not certain. It is a legal requirement in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland that the cause of death is known and recorded. The coroner is a senior and independent judicial officer and has coroner's officers working for him or her, who carry out investigations for the coroner.

Examples of deaths that are referred to a coroner are those where the cause of death is not known, as a result of an accident, resulting from medical treatment, or which are suspicious. The police or a doctor informs the coroner. This could also occur if their GP is not around to sign the MCCD.  

Firstly, the coroner will look at all the relevant documentation and speak with doctors that have been involved. If a cause of death can be ascertained, then someone from the coroner’s office will speak to the nearest relative or their representative, to discuss the cause of death. If the next of kin agrees it will be referred back to their GP or the hospital where they passed away. If the next of kin does not agree, then a post-mortem will need to take place. 

The post-mortem is an external and internal examination of the body. The purpose of the examination is to determine the cause of death and it is not done for research or any other purpose. It may be necessary to keep very small samples of tissue and fluid from the body for further testing. You will be told if this is necessary and given a choice about what happens to the samples in the future. 

If you’re a relative of the person who has died, they do not need your permission to do this. But you are entitled to have a doctor represent you at the post-mortem. If you ask for this, the coroner will tell you when and where the post-mortem will be. If the person dies in hospital, you may ask the coroner to arrange for the post-mortem to be carried out by a pathologist not employed at or connected to that hospital.

If the cause of death is found to be natural and there are no other circumstances requiring an inquest, the coroner will provide a document instead of an MCCD allowing the death to be registered. This is often sent directly to the registrar, but you may be asked to collect it in person.

If the death was not due to natural causes or further tests are needed to find the cause of death, the coroner will open an inquest. They will usually release the body for the funeral at this time.

The coroner's officer will inform your funeral director when they can collect the body to prepare for the funeral.