Inquests

We advise individuals who have suffered the loss of a family member and need advice and assistance in dealing with an Inquest and will provide them with representation at the Inquest.  In some cases that representation is provided as part of our investigations into a civil claim.

Inquests are very painful and distressing events for a family to experience.  It is hard to come to terms with a loved one’s death, but it is that much harder when there is a question as to whether the death could have been avoided, and an Inquest is called to consider how the death happened.  Inquests are made harder by the fact that procedures and practices vary from Coroner to Coroner and the timescale for an Inquest to be heard will be affected not only by the amount of investigations the Coroner orders before the hearing, but the availability of the Coroner to hear the case; they are very busy and have very limited resources.

Preparation for a typical Inquest will involve regular liaison with the Coroner, obtaining medical records of the deceased, police reports if available, taking a statement from you and any other key witnesses, considering the use of an expert, providing representation at the Inquest, for instance by one of our team or by a barrister (counsel) and advising you on what the verdict means. 

Funding Inquest representation

Depending on the circumstances in which the Inquest has arisen and your involvement in it, there is a variety of funding options.   Otherwise we will discuss with you funding the claim by:

Legal expenses insurance(LEI)

If you own your own home and are the Executor of the deceased’ estate you may have LEI and it may cover your legal costs of attending an Inquest if there is also a civil claim arising out of the Inquest. Alternatively the deceased may have had LEI cover that can be used.

Privately

We offer clients funding for inquests on a hourly rate, or if they prefer, we can offer a fixed fee package. Fees are agreed on the basis of the level of service a client requires.

Legal aid 

This is only available in the rarest of circumstances,  where  we can show the circumstances of the death involve issues of general public interest.

Recovering Inquest Costs

Generally costs of representation at an Inquest may be recoverable as costs of a subsequent successful civil action.  What this means is that if you go on to pursue, for instance, a clinical negligence claim against a NHS trust and win, the majority of your costs of attending the Inquest as part of your investigations into the clinical negligence claim will be recoverable.